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Owner or Manager?
This is our final week in the lead up to the Ten Week Tithing Challenge. This Challenge focuses on the intersection of the Biblical rhythms of Discipleship and Generosity. It starts this Sunday, January 31, and concludes on Easter, and we already have ten RVCC families or individuals that have decided to start or increase their investment in God’s work! Here’s my question for you this week:
Are you the owner or the manager
of the resources God has given you?
The answer to that question makes all the difference in how you see the world, and how you view what you’ve been given. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.” Rooted reminds us that “God is the Source, Provider, Creator, and He is the Owner and Investor who entrusts us with worldly wealth.” (Participant workbook, p. 158) The truth is that God owns it all, and He provides everything we need to accomplish His purpose! Our role is to manage His money well. Remember, tithing (giving 10% of our income) is not for everyone. It’s for those of us who have identified as a follower of Jesus. In other words, it’s for believers.
In week one of this Challenge, we introduced a Spiritual Conditions spectrum that helped us self-identify our place in our spiritual journey:
- Not Interested - someone who is apathetic, or even hostile, to spiritual direction
- Spiritually Curious - someone who is open to or pursuing faith conversations
- Believer - this person has decided to follow Jesus and put their trust in Him for salvation
- Growing Disciple - someone who is actively engaged daily in learning and deepening their faith
- Disciple Maker - this person is intentionally engaged in helping others follow and grow in faith
If we identify as a 3, 4, or 5 on the above scale, then generosity as part of following Jesus is not an option.
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Believers live out the discipleship rhythm of generosity by returning to God what is already His!
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Let’s take a deeper look at this principle with one more helpful self-assessment. It’s what we call The Five Giving Conditions:
- Never given
- Giving, but not regularly
- Giving regularly, but not tithing
- Tithing
- Giving radically, above a tithe
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If we view ourselves as a manager of God’s resources, then our call is move through the above scale towards reaching number five. The tithe was never meant to be the ceiling of our giving, only the floor, or starting point. This journey needs to move us forward: from zero to something, from something to regular, from regular to sacrificial, and from sacrificial to radical. Radical generosity begins when we dip into the 90%; it begins AFTER the tithe.
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So one more “look in the mirror moment” this week. As you consider your place on the Giving Conditions spectrum, what’s your next step? Remember, this Tithing Challenge did not originate with us; testing God in the area of giving was God’s idea from Malachi 3:8-12!
Here’s the Challenge in a nutshell:
If you take this Ten-Week Tithing Challenge and you don’t experience God at work in your life — developing peace, growing contentment, transforming hearts, and maturing your faith — we will give back any money you give as a part of this Challenge. That’s how confident we are in what God says He will do.
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God’s call on our lives includes investing in His kingdom by tithing. If you choose to give to God through RVCC, then you should know that our goal is to honor God and change lives with every donation. We are seeing community impact, transformed lives, biblical discipleship, God-given breakthroughs, and real momentum happening all around us. Imagine what God will do when His people understand that everything belongs to Him and we view ourselves as His managers!
Will you take the Tithing Challenge and watch God work?
As always, we are here for questions and conversations.
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CHALLENGE-TAKERS
Click the link for details and to make your commitment to the Ten-Week Tithing Challenge.
QUESTION-ASKERS
You can reach us easily by emailing or setting up a conversation with myself or your campus pastor:
Mike Parejo, Online Campus Pastor, mikep@rainierview.org
Jeff Jamba, Graham Campus Pastor, jeffj@rainierview.org
Trevor Hanson, Parkland Campus Pastor, trevorh@rainierview.org
Rusty Carlson, Lead Executive Pastor, rustyc@rainierview.org
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On the journey of letting go of “ownership” alongside you,
Rusty
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