By Shawn Blackmon
Have you ever had somebody ask you to give something back that already belonged to them?
Maybe they left a dish at your house. Maybe they loaned you something, and you kept it so long that you almost forgot it wasn’t yours. Then one day they show up and say, “Hey, can I get my stuff back?”
And your first reaction is, “Your stuff? What stuff?”
The funny thing is, sometimes that’s exactly how we are with God.
We say, “My money. My paycheck. My house. My car. My savings.”
Then we turn around and ask, “God, how much of my money do You want?”
But maybe we’re starting with the wrong question.
Whose money is it anyway?
In 1 Chronicles 29, David is preparing for the building of the temple. David won’t be the one to build it; his son Solomon will. But David has prepared resources, he has personally given, the leaders have given and the people have responded generously.
Understand something, though: David isn’t fundraising because God is broke.
God doesn’t need their money. In fact, David is about to remind them that the God they are giving to is the same God who gave it to them in the first place.
David prays in verse 11, “All that is in heaven and in the earth is Yours.”
Before David celebrates what the people have given, he establishes ownership. And if everything comes from God, then I’m not really the owner. I’m the steward.
That changes everything.
Stewardship doesn’t begin when the offering plate comes around. Stewardship begins when I recognize that it was His before it ever reached my hands.
My ability to work came from God. My opportunities came from God. My resources came from God. The possessions I have ultimately belong to God.
So the question is no longer, “God, how much of my money do You want?”
The better question is, “God, what do You want me to do with what already belongs to You?”
David continues in verse 14, “For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You.”
In other words, David is saying, “God, what we’re giving You came from You!”
It’s like giving your child money to buy you a birthday present. They may hand you the gift, but you know where the money came from.
That’s what giving looks like when we understand biblical stewardship.
We aren’t doing God a favor. We aren’t rescuing God’s church. Again, David isn’t fundraising because God is broke.
Giving is an act of worship. It is our way of saying, “God, I recognize that You are my Source.”
And that word Source is important.
Think about your phone. You can unplug it from the charger and it will continue working for a while. It may look perfectly fine. But eventually, the battery begins to drain because it has been disconnected from its source.
The same can happen to us.
We can become so impressed with what is in our hands that we forget the One who put it there.
Never become so attached to the resource that you forget the Source.
David says in verse 16, “All this abundance … comes from Your hand and is all Your own.”
It came from God. It belongs to God. But God placed some of it in your hands.
And whatever God places in your hands, you become responsible for managing.
That’s stewardship.
And stewardship isn’t only about what you give on Sunday. It’s about what you do with everything God has entrusted to you.
It’s how you give. How you spend. How you save. How you plan. How you manage debt. And, yes, sometimes it’s about recognizing when you need to stop spending.
Because some of us worship at the Church of Amazon. Some of us worship at the Church of TikTok Shop. Some of us worship at the Church of Walmart.
And some of us have been extremely faithful members of the Church of Waffle House!
But if it all belongs to God, then God cares about what we do with all of it, not just the portion we bring to church.
That’s where the difference between ownership and stewardship becomes important.
Ownership asks, “What do I want?”
Stewardship asks, “What does God want?”
Before we talk about budgets, saving, debt or even giving, we have to settle the issue of ownership.
Am I treating what God entrusted to me like I own it, or like I’m responsible for it?
Because you manage something differently when you know it belongs to somebody else.
If somebody loans you their car, you tend to be a little more careful with it. You don’t want to scratch it. You don’t want to damage it. You want to return it in good condition because you know it isn’t yours.
What would happen if we approached our finances the same way?
What if every paycheck reminded us, “God trusted me with this”?
What if every financial decision became an opportunity to practice stewardship?
That doesn’t mean you can never enjoy what God has provided. It means you remember who provided it.
So here’s your assignment.
Before you spend it, before you swipe it, before you tap it, before you order it and before you call it “my money,” ask one question:
“God, what do You want me to do with what You have entrusted to me?”
Because it came from Him. It belongs to Him. He placed it in your hands.
And now you’re responsible for how you steward it.
So, whose money is it anyway?
Maybe the answer to that question can change the way we handle everything else.
Let’s Pray:
Father, thank You for everything You have entrusted to me. Forgive me for the times I have treated Your provision as though it belonged only to me. Help me remember that You are my Source and that everything I have ultimately comes from You. Give me wisdom in how I give, spend, save, plan and manage what You have placed in my hands. Teach me to be generous, disciplined and faithful. May the way I handle my finances become an act of worship that honors You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Walk in grace. Stand in truth. Live blessed.
