We all like to negotiate.
Why else would there be so many sales on a daily basis at every store imaginable, from cell phone providers to fast-food chains? After all, who doesn’t like a bargain?
If we purchase one item at a discount, we have more money to purchase another desired item. And, if money is tight, sales allow us to purchase what we may not be able to otherwise.
Do you ever find yourself negotiating with God?
As stewards, we commit to tithing a percentage of our income each week, but we may find that an unexpected event occurs that prevents us from fulfilling that commitment in full or in part — the lawnmower breaks, we need extra medicine for our kids, or a travel opportunity that we can’t pass up presents itself. Perhaps we rationalize that God will understand.
But what happens is that instead of trusting in God and giving Him our first fruits, we become inverted stewards. We rationalize and decide for ourselves when and how we are going to return our resources to God based on what is left over after satisfying our wants and needs. We keep the control and continue the planning and put God in the backseat, because we know, “He will understand.”
When we allow ourselves to remain in control, we do ourselves a huge disservice and we begin to lose the trust we have in God. We don’t let Him take the wheel because we are just too afraid to let it go.
Giving to God out of what we make isn’t about tabulating a list of what we need and seeing what is leftover for God. It’s not about fearfully placing an envelope with a tithe of our first fruits in the collection basket each week.
Giving to God is about gratefulness – wanting to return a portion to God for all the blessings He has given us. In doing so, we know we will never match His generosity, but we receive graces knowing that we are putting God first and trusting He will never let us down.
Don’t be a half-hearted Steward. Don’t negotiate with God. After all, whatever He has planned for our lives is far better than what we could ever buy for ourselves.
