The S Word # 15

THE THEOLOGY OF MONEY # 15
By Douglas Hambidge

BECAUSE I BELIEVE STRONGLY in the sacramental nature of money, and am
convinced that I have a need to give as a way of expressing my response to what
God has entrusted to me, I find I want to ask these two basic questions;

What motivates my giving?
What drives my stewardship?
I focus largely on the stewardship of financial resources, because money is
so tangible an expression of what I do with my life. But clearly what is said here
relates just as directly to my stewardship of time and my energies.

WHAT MOTIVATES IT ALL?
The Budget-Driven Syndrome

Things have to be done: bills have to be paid; wages have to be met; programmes have
to be produced. So funds have to be provided. These are the simple facts of life for any parish
council and parish treasurer. The route to take is to prepare a budget outlining anticipated
expenses, and then urge the members of the congregation to respond to the budget with their proposed offerings. The people may suggest changes to the budget. And they may even be involved in drawing up the budget, but the bottom line is that the budget must be met. It is the responsibility of every member of the congregation to contribute to the limit of their ability so that the budget will be met.

Here stewardship is meeting the parish needs.

The budget-driven has several problems. The first is that if the budget does not appeal
to me, then I can withhold my giving. The second problem is that this approach makes me a
consumer of whatever the church is offering, rather than a participant. It leaves the parish with the need to humour me in its budget if it wants my support, or I’ll take my offering envelopes elsewhere.

Continued next week with #16