TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR GO'D WORK THROUGH OUR FINANCES

(FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP)

I. INTRODUCTION

1. Our topic for today is something that is sensitive to most of us - sensitive in the sense
that as much as possible, we would rather talk about money when it is coming into our
pockets but not when it is going out. This is because don't want to expose our attitude
toward money for fear of being seen to be greedy or selfish.

2. But it is important to discuss this matter because money has been the cause of many
broken relationships, even between husbands and wives. And broken relationships are,
of course, not in consonance with God's commandment to love one another.

3. Furthermore our attitude toward money is an expression of our response to God himself.
It is important for us to realize that our Lord Jesus Christ wants all the dimensions of our
lives, including our financial responsibilities and finances, to be directed and guided by
the Holy Spirit. The Lord asks that we open our hearts to the Spirit and allow him to give
us a Christian outlook on our possessions and money and how to manage them wisely.

4. So let us now take a closer look at our Christian responsibility in the area of finance.

II. PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN FINANCE

1. Everything belongs to God.

 God created everything. And everything - the heavens, the earth, and all they
contain - belongs to God.
Ps. 24.1:
The Lord's are the earth and its fullness; the world and all who dwell in it.
Ang buong daigdig, lahat ng naroon, may-ari'y si Yahweh, ating Panginoon.

 God is the owner of everything without exception. This includes what we normally
call our own: our house, our car, our clothes, our investments, our money, even our
children.
Haggai 2:8:
Mine is the silver and mine the gold, says the Lord of hosts.
. . . pagka't ang ginto at pilak ay akin.

2. We are merely stewards of what belongs to God.

 We are stewards (or managers) and not masters over the things God has
entrusted to us.
 We are to manage what has been entrusted to us wisely, unselfishly and in
accordance with God's plan.

3. It is God who enables us to acquire wealth.

 Prov. 10:22:
It is the Lord's blessing that brings wealth, and no effort can substitute for it.
Ang pagpapala ni Yahweh at kayamanan na walang kabalisahan.
Ecc. 5;18:
Any man to whom God gives riches and property, and grants power to partake of
them, so that he receives his lot and finds joy in the fruits of his toil, has a gift from
God.

Without God's blessings, we would not have the good things we now have.
1 Cor. 4:7:
Name something that you have that you have not received. If then, you have
received it, why are you boasting as if it were your own?
Ano ang kahigtan ninyo sa iba? Hindi ba lahat ng nasa inyo'y kaloob ng
Diyos? Kung gayon, bakit ninyo ipinagyayabang na wari'y hindi kaloob sa
inyo?

Our minds, our education, business opportunities, "good luck", all our ours only by
God's grace.
Sir. 11:14-15:
Good and evil, life and death, poverty and riches are from the Lord. Wisdom and
understanding and knowledge of affairs . . . are from the Lord.
Huwag mong ipangmarangya ang magara mong kasuotan, at huwag kang
magmamataas sa araw na ikaw ay pinararangalan; sapagkat kahanga-hanga
ang pamamaraan ng Panginoon, at lingid sa mga tao ang kanyang mga gawa.
Sir. 11:21:
Admire not how sinners live, but trust in the Lord and wait for his light. For it is easy
with the Lord suddenly, in an instant, to make a poor man rich.
Huwag kang managhili sa tagumpay ng masasamang tao, gawin mo ang iyong
tungkulin, at manalig sa Panginoon, sapagkat madali sa kanya na ang dikha'y
payamanin.

4. We should use our finances (wealth and possession) to glorify God and participate in
the spread of his kingdom.

Prov. 3:9:
Honor the Lord with your wealth
Si Yahweh ang handugan mo, bahagi ng kayamanan, pinakamainam na ani mo,
sa kanya ibigay.

Though God allows us to enjoy our possessions, these are not exclusively for our
benefit. We need to see how we can use our possessions to serve God and to do his
work on earth.
III. THE PRACTICE OF CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP

Since the time of Abraham, God's people have expressed their stewardship over their
possession through three basic ways: tithing, resource sharing, and almsgiving. These have
always formed an important aspect of the relationship of God's people with the Lord.
A. Tithing

1. The tithe consists of 10% of an individual's income after taxes from whatever source
(i.e., wages, rents, investments, business, etc.)
 It is a priority over everything else we need to spend on.
 It is given to the immediate body of Christ of which one is a part, and where one
receives his support in the Christian life. For us, that basically means CFC and
our parish.
 It is given to support the work of the Lord.

2. Scriptural Basis of Tithing

a. Old Testament Practice

Dt. 14:22-29 (cf also Dt. 26:12-15) prescribes an annual tithe of grain, wine, oil,
and firstlings (first-born animals like lambs, goats, etc.) to provide for cultic meals
and to help the poor.
Each year you shall tithe all the produce that grows in the field you have sown;
then in the place which the Lord, your God, chooses as the dwelling place of his
name you shall eat in his presence your tithe of the grain, wine and oil, as well as
the firstlings of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the ways of the
Lord, your God. . . . But do not neglect the Levite who belongs to your
community, for he has no share in the heritage with you. At the end of every third
year you shall bring out all the tithes of your produce for that year and deposit
them in community stores, that the Levite who has no share in the heritage with
you, and also the alien, the orphan and the widow who belong to your
community, may come and eat their fill; sot that the Lord, your God, may bless
you in all that you undertake.
Kukunan ninyo ng ikapu ang inyong ani taon-taon. Ang ikapu ng inyong
ani, alak, langis, at an panganay ng inyong mga hayop ay doon ninyo
kakanin sa lugar na pipiliin ni Yahweh upang matuto kayong matakot sa
kanya. . . . Ngunit huwag ninyong kalilimutang bigyan ang mga Levita sa
inyong lugar, yamang sila'y walang kaparti sa lupaing minana ninyo.
Tipunin ninyo ang ikapu ng inyong ani tuwing ika-tatlong taon. Ito ay
ibibigay ninyo sa mga Levita yamang wala silang kaparti sa inyong lupain.
Bibigyan din ninyo ang mga bnayaga, ang ulila at mga balo. Sa gayon,
pagpapalain kayo ni Yahweh.

Numbers 18:21:32 grants the tithes of all Israel to the Levites and they in turn are
to pay a tithe of what they receive to the priests.
To the Levites, however, I assign all tithes in Israel as their heritage in
recompense for the service they perform in the meeting tent. . . . [Then] the Lord
said to Moses, "Give the Levites these instructions: When you receive from the
Israelites the tithes I have assigned you from them as your heritage, you are to
make a contribution from them to the Lord, a tithe of the tithes; and your
contribution will be credited to you as if it were grain from the threshing floor or
new wine from the press. Thus you too shall make a contribution from all the
tithes you receive from the Israelites. . . . From all the gifts that you receive, and
 from the best parts, you are to consecrate to the Lord you own full contribution. .
. . You will incur no guilt so long as you make a contribution of the best part. Do
not profane the sacred gifts of the Israelites and so bring death on yourselves.

Leviticus 27:30 states that the tithes are holy to Yahweh.

All tithes of the land, whether in grains from the fields or in fruit from the trees,
belong to the Lord, as sacred to him.

After the exile, the people pledged to tithe according to Numbers 18:21ff
(Nehemiah 10:37), but had difficulty doing it as we find out from Malachi 3:7-10:
Return to me and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Yet you say, 'how
must we return?' Dare a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me! And you say
'How do we rob you?' In tithes and offerings! You are indeed accursed, for you
the whole nation, rob me. Bring the whole tithe to the storehouse, that there may
be food in my house, and try me in this, says the Lord of hosts: Shall I not open
the floodgates of heaven, to pour down blessings upon you without measure?
Ang tanong ko nama'y, 'Matuwid bang dayain ng tao ang Diyos?' Hindi,
ngunit dinadaya ninyo ako. Sa paanong paraan? Sa mga ikapu at mga
handog. Isinumpa ko kayong lahat sapagkat ako'y dinadaya ng buong
bansa. Ibigay ninyong buong-buo ang inyong mga ikapu upang
matugunan ang pangangailangan sa aking templo. Subukin ninyong gawin
ito, kung hindi ko buksan ang mga durungawan ng langit at ibuhos sa inyo
ang masaganang pagpapala.

Tithing is also alluded to in 1 Macabees 3:49.

They bought with them . . . the first fruits,, and the tithes . . .

b. New Testament Practice

During the time of Christ, the payment of tithe was a proof of the piety of
Pharisees. While the Old Testament stipulated a tithe only on the produce of the
grains, wines and flocks, the Pharisees extended the obligation to even the
smallest herbs (Matt. 23:23; Lk. 11:42). Jesus encourages his hearers to
continue with the practice of tithing faithfully.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you frauds! You pay tithes on mint and
herbs and seeds while neglecting the weightier matters of the law, justice and
mercy and good faith. It is these which you should have practiced, without
neglecting the others.

c. Practice of the New Testament communities

The practice of tithing as such is not mentioned, while the reality is present. The
summary passages of Acts tell us that the community members had their goods
 in common, in the sense that no one considered anything as his own and in
practice was willing to sell real property in order to provide for the needs of
church members (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-34). In a very real sense, they practiced
much more than just giving a tenth.

The early Christians recognized the right of the apostles to be supported by the
communities they served with enough to support also their family. We know this
from Paul's letters which took pride in rejecting this kind of support although he
mentions that as an apostle he had a aright to receive it. In Gal. 6:6, he
mentions that the person instructed in the Word of God has the obligation to
share all his possessions with his teacher.

3. The Teaching of the Church Fathers, Theologians and Saints

St. Irenaues, Bishop of Lyon (around 170AD) says that those who have received the
liberty set aside all their possessions for the Lord's purposes, bestowing joyfully and
freely not the less valuable portions of their property (Ad Haer IV, xviii, 2). Here we
see tithing as something to be far exceeded by Christian giving (Nm Horn XI).
Augustine regards tithing as something that is due by Christians to God. In fact, by
the 4th century, there is consensus in the Church that Christians have the obligation
to pay tithes. St. Jerome in his commentary on Mal. 3:10 states that even if
Christians cannot sell all and give to the poor, they should at least imitate the Jews by
giving tithes and first fruits. St. Ambrose stressed that tithes are due from every
substance given to men by God, including profits from trade and hunting (on Mt.
23:23).

The 1917 Code of Canon Law in canons 1496 and 1502 stipulates the obligation of
Catholics to support the Church. Canon 1502 specified that tithes and first fruits
were to be paid according to the custom of each country. Also, the new Code of
Canon Law (1983) spells out the obligation of all members of the Church without
exception to support the Church so she can fulfill her worship, her mission, and
support her ministries. The Canons in the New Code are 222, par 1 and 231, par 2.

No one is exempted from the above obligation: laity, clergy or religious. The new
Code just as much as the old Code affirms the right of the Church to demand this
support (Canon 1260), but prefers that this be a free-will offering.

The Code also stipulates that the faithful are not only obligated to support priests
adequately (including providing annual vacations for them), but also to support with a
real family wage lay people who work for the Church or Church organizations. This
support must include adequate insurance, retirement benefits, etc. (Canon 231,2).