— by Troy Austin

I first became interested in stewardship when I submitted to a Crown Financial Ministry course 20 years ago. Having grown up in the deep south in a blue collar Southern Baptist church, I knew about stewardship: Give 10%. . . of the net, right?

This study unlocked in me a new found purpose in my closed-handedness. It led me to the spare bedroom / war room, complete with a giant shower board on the wall (I was not going to waste God’s money buying a real whiteboard) and a hand-me-down recliner in which my poor young bride, Sunny, could relax while I passionately “lectured” her as to how we were going to tighten our grip in order to most effectively manage God’s money.

A few years later, after I violently attempted to pound 1.25 cents out of every penny, I was given a gift that began to loosen the grip on the money flowing into our hands. The gift giver was a mentor of mine: a no nonsense, larger than life, NFL linebacker turned cowboy. When he told someone something, they listened. He handed me this book, The Treasure Principle, directed me to a website called Generous Giving, and told me that God owns it all. I am forever grateful for his leading me into an upside down world that has dominated my thinking since then.

I became mesmerized by spiritual giants like Stanley Tam and RG Letourneau. They were not like the businessmen I knew, read about or idolized. I almost instantaneously created a new idol: I would give away 51% of my income. I would have to tighten my grip for a season, but I would loosen later FOR God. Little did I know, I was still missing it.

Fortunately God was not shaking his head, but was patiently walking with me through numerous trials leading me ever closer to the life of an open-handed steward. He led me to attend, host, and later facilitate Journeys of Generosity with Generous Giving. He led me to work with both National Christian Foundation and Waterstone. He allowed me to meet and work with many incredibly successful Christ followers at different places along their own journeys.

The more I was around these incredible stewards, the more I began to notice that they had more joy than I did and it was not just because they had more wealth. They seemed to see more beauty in relationships and in simple pleasures. They were more grateful. Their yoke seemed easy and their burden light. While they were intelligent and informed in their giving, they did not get bent out of shape if and when things did not go as they had planned.

Fortunately, as I started walking with these people, my tight grip began to relax a little. I began to see glimpses of what these guys were seeing. I desperately wanted more, but it seemed so counter to what I had been taught. It seemed irresponsible at times. . . upside down even.

Tim Keller has been significant in shaping my views on stewardship, and he says this:

If we are Christians, we are living simultaneously in 2 Kingdoms: The right side up kingdom and the upside down kingdom. The right side up kingdom is the one we see physically. It is the one the world tells us we must build: Power, success, comfort, recognition. The upside down kingdom is described by Christ in the sermon on the mount: Weakness, sacrifice, discomfort, rejection. Remember, everything in the right side up kingdom turns to fertilizer. This does not mean we are not to live in the right side up kingdom and even enjoy it, but we cannot be controlled by it. It is not our kingdom.

He goes on to share how you know you are living in the upside down kingdom:

1.  You are a reckless giver, so much so that it could put you in financial risk at times

2.  You are exploited emotionally by others taking advantage of your generosity

3.  You do not feel like God owes you something because you have earned it

4.  You recognize that all you have is a gift of grace

Wait a minute, this is stewardship? This does not look like the stewardship I was trying to outline on that shower board all those years ago. Keller goes on to say that the standard for stewardship is the cross. . . whoa! That sounds crazy and imprudent to me. But that is the owner. . . radically generous. . . even to those who do not “deserve” it. . . even when it makes no sense to the world. . . even when it costs Him everything.

If God didn’t keep a tight grip on unlimited grace, then who am I to pinch every penny, even if I’m pinching for the “right” reasons? Generosity isn’t about gaining as much as you can in order to give more away. It isn’t even about giving away everything you have. It’s about acknowledging the free gift of love and grace you’ve already received from the one who owns everything—and in turn holding on loosely to whatever treasures he has placed in your hands.

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