I have been thinking about the idea that we are stewards of what God has given us.  Stewards are like the managers.

There are lots of models of managers. One is the manager that a rock star or movie personality might have.  Can you imagine if the manager said to the rock star, "I really don't think I should have to give you 10 percent of what I earned for you."  In reality the star gets 85 percent and the manager gets 15 percent. 

Okay, so maybe this is a bad model.  So how about a financial manager.  Do they get 90 percent of the profits and then complain that they shouldn't have to give the 10 percent to the one they work for?  Not really.

There used to be a man who came to visit me frequently after the AA meetings at my last call.  He attended another church.  He usually came to ask me to pray for whatever friend he was concerned about.  He was a salesman.  He worked on commission.  And he tithed on every penny he earned. (Gross!)  He thought it was the best bargain and the best deal that he could possibly have.   He said that he and God were partners.  He thought that it was incredible that God would support him in this life and in his daily work and that God only asked a tiny 10 percent in return. 

I liked the way he made it sound.  We offer people lots of different ways to look at tithing.  We encourage people to figure out what percent they are giving and then ask them to increase it by 1 percent, knowing in our own minds that increasing giving seems so hard for most people.

But this guy had the right idea.  There is no better bargain to be had in this world than fact that God lets you keep 90 percent of what is really God's. Even if we rightly turn over our life to God and let God run it.  if we see God as our manager, then it is still a bargain, because any other manager would want 15 percent.

The truth is I am just playing with words and semantics.  It is all God's and none of it is ours.  But sometimes we need to see how easy it is for us to understand reasonable percentages when we are dealing with those to whom we entrust the care of our money and our lives, then why do we find it so hard to even approach ten percent in giving to the one who has given us life and into whose care we entrust all that we have and all that we are.

What we are actually being asked to do is to contribute .10 percent of what is not ours to the furtherance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 Lord,  Help us to be so grateful for what we have that we can receive from your extravagance and give as generously.  Amen