“Joyful Giving”
What comes to mind when you are asked to fill out a pledge card? For many of us, it feels like another bill to pay—a religious bill, perhaps, but still one more obligation to fit in alongside all the others. Naturally, we compare it with other ways that money could be used. Naturally, we want to minimize the cost and maximize the benefit. That is how consumers think, and it is easy to approach church giving in that same consumer spirit. But when that happens, joy quickly disappears. Yet Scripture tells us plainly: “Let every man do according as he is disposed in his heart, not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7).
The question, then, is simple but searching: how do we move from grudging consumers to joyful givers? That is the spiritual challenge at the heart of stewardship. Of course, there are practical matters to consider. The church has a budget to meet, ministries to sustain, and new opportunities we would like to pursue. These financial realities matter. But beneath them lies a deeper concern: the state of our hearts. If we are stuck in the mindset of consumers of religious services, then our giving will always feel like duty without delight. But if we see ourselves as members of God’s family, then giving becomes an act of freedom, gratitude, and joy.
Our natural relationship with God is creature to Creator: finite to infinite, fleeting to everlasting. Yet, in Christ, God has brought us into something far more intimate. He has given himself to us as our Father. In him, we are not just isolated creatures but beloved children, united with one another in the family of God and heirs of his kingdom. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1). What we are in ourselves—weak, sinful —is not the last word. What we are in Christ—beloved, forgiven, renewed—is what defines us.
The Bible’s picture of “children” holds together two truths. On the one hand, like the “little children” who are brought to Jesus, we are powerless and utterly dependent on our Father’s grace for daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil. On the other hand, in Scripture the word “children” also designates grown sons and daughters who take responsibility for their parents’ work—Jonathan with Saul, Ruth with Naomi, Elisha with Elijah. In Christ, we too are called to maturity: “workers together with the Lord” (2 Cor. 6:1), gladly giving ourselves for the honor of his name, the growth of his kingdom, and the fulfillment of his will. Knowing ourselves loved with an everlasting love, we are freed from anxious self-concern to live as faithful sons and daughters who serve with joy.
And what is his will? That we should love one another as he has loved us, serving with the gifts entrusted to us “as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10). That is what stewardship is really about—not just the church’s financial needs but our identity as God’s family. That is why the offering of alms and oblations is an act of worship: it is not merely meeting a budget but expressing thanksgiving in action. It is love responding to Love.
In the weeks ahead, as St. John’s Stewardship campaign unfolds, you will be asked to prayerfully consider your pledge for 2026. The temptation will be to think of it as a transaction—like paying for religious services rendered. Resist that temptation. Instead, think of it as an opportunity to live into your true identity as children of God, growing to maturity in Christ. For when giving is rooted in faith, shaped by hope, and overflowing with love, then it is no longer grudging, but joyful.