Analyzing A Common Complaint About Stewardship

Mark S. Roberti, Director of Stewardship

Heartland Parishes of Ellis County

I was recently asked by a very faithful Catholic, “Why is stewardship so infrequently mentioned in the Bible?”  She was forthright and kind. Her point was that she does not particularly like talking about money with respect to Church.  I appreciate her candor.  A lot of people feel that way.  It gave me an opportunity to present it to her from a different angle.  It also gives me an opportunity to address the issue with you.

Theologians often use the phrase “in the divine economy” as another way of saying “in God’s divine plan.”  To me, the divine economy is this: stewardship plus evangelization equals discipleship.  In being stewards and evangelizers, we will fill the pews and revitalize the Catholic Church through true discipleship.     

Using the New American Bible, I did a computer Bible word search on the following words: stewardship, steward, stewards, tithe, and tithes.  There were no occurrences of the word “tithing.”   The word “stewardship” is mentioned only five times.  They are all New Testament references.  Steward is mentioned 25 times; only seven are New Testament references.   Stewards is mentioned four times, three of those are New Testament references. Tithe is mentioned 15 times, all Old Testament references.  Tithes is mentioned 32 times, 25 are Old Testament and seven New Testament references.

Let’s start with the New Testament.  Two mentions of stewardship and four mentions of the word steward are in Luke 16:1-8, the parable of the dishonest steward.  There, the master summons the steward, asking for an account of his stewardship and tells the steward he can no longer be the master’s servant.  The steward is out of a cushy job;

So, he ingratiates himself with the master’s customers.  He reduces the “tab” by cutting his own profit as the “middleman.” Jesus says, “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation then are the children of light.” 

St. Paul also mentions stewardship once each in 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, and Colossians.  In 1 Corinthians, he is talking about stewardship in the context of having been entrusted to preach the Gospel (Cf. 1Cor 9:17).  Likewise, in Ephesians, he is speaking of having been given the stewardship of God’s grace in preaching the Gospel for our benefit (Cf. Ephesians 3:2).  In Colossians, he is talking about offering his suffering for our sake, to bring to completion to us the Word of God. (Cf. Cor 1:25).  So in each case, he is talking about either preaching or living the Gospel message.  In Paul’s Letter to Titus, he goes a step further and describes the characteristics a bishop should and should not have in his role as a steward. 

In each of the 19 times we see the words steward or stewards being used in the Old Testament referring to a household servant, a palace servant, or a prime minister-like relationship to the king or pharaoh.  That also happens once in the Gospel of Luke where Joanna is referred to as the wife of Herod’s steward (Lk 12:42).

 But in the other New Testament references there is no mincing of words.  Luke 12:42 is a parable about the vigilant and faithful servant. Peter asks, “Lord, is this parable for us?”  Jesus responds, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute [the] food allowances at the proper time?” (Luke 12:42).  Jesus then clearly explains that if the servant abuses his privileges the master will come at an unexpected hour and that servant will be severely beaten.  The passage concludes with, “Much will be required of a person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of a person entrusted with more” (Lk 12:48). 

Now, let’s look at the other sayings and parables that surround this passage or are elsewhere in the Bible.  “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions” (Lk 12:15). Then, there is the parable of the rich fool who has so much he tears down his old barns and builds new ones.  The master says to him, “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?” (Lk 20)  In the next verse, God tell us, “Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”

There’s also the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 17:19 ff.), the story of the widows mite (Mk 12:42), the story of the rich young man (Mk 10:17 ff.) the story of the Good Samaritan, the parable about the pearl of great price buried in the field.  It goes on and on.  In fact, well over half Jesus’ parables dealt with money.  He was trying to teach us something through these examples.  The same is true with respect to our understanding of stewardship. 

There are 47 Old Testament passages which include the word “tithe” or “tithes.” I cannot cite them due to space constraints.  The context of each is that we should be giving our first fruits to God. Adam and Eve were responsible for the husbandry of the Garden of Eden.  In the next chapter of Genesis, Abel offered his best to God. Cain didn’t.  You know the rest of those stories.  The entire Bible is about our stewardship of the mysteries of God and His graciousness toward us.   

What I have always found fascinating it the last reference to tithing in the Old Testament.  It reads: “Dare a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me!  And you say, ‘How do we rob you?’  In tithes and offerings!” (Mal 3:8) That’s quite an indictment.

But then God softens.  He says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and try me in this says the Lord of hosts: Shall I not open for you the floodgates of heaven, to pour down blessing upon you without measure?” (Mal 3:10).

Tithing is not an obsolete Old Testament tenet.  Nor is stewardship a fashionable modern day New Testament concept.  Both are necessary for Christians to properly order our values.  The message is that those who are not tithing of their time, talent, and treasure, ought to be.  Stewardship is for our own good and the greater glory of God.