God's Piece of the Pie

As the former financial director of a large banking corporation, James McGregor gives his take on the meaning of good corporate (and personal) stewardship.

It isn’t wrong to have wealth. Rather, the challenge is how one uses it. But how to be an honourable steward of what God’s given you can be difficult. It’s a topic that’s created uncertainty in the minds of modern Christians, but my guess is that it’s always been this way.

My thoughts are based on these biblical premises: first, everything we have is God’s gift to us; second, we have been entrusted with the managing of those gifts; and, third, we are to be good stewards and use them to His glory. In executing our role as honourable stewards, we need God’s direction.

To give is central to being Christian. It’s not just one option in a menu of different ways of serving God. All Christians are called to give, even if we have little. The Christian is called to give sacrificially, that is, as the saying goes, until it hurts!

How does one do this, and do so joyfully? And how much is really enough? Is there a standard? These are difficult questions to answer emphatically. But the Bible does give some specific guidance and also principles that are worth considering.

giving
Much of what the Bible says about wealth is tied to a concept it refers to as the “tithe,” or the giving of one-tenth of one’s income or “increase” to the benefit of church ministry. In Old Testament times, this was given to the fulltime priesthood to support them.

Following are a few considerations in this respect:
The command to return a tithe—a tenth of one’s income—is contained in Malachi 3:10. It may be significant that it’s in the last book of the Old Testament—looking forward into New Testament times.

We should probably regard a tithe as a minimum in terms of giving. The New Testament emphasises a heartfelt generosity that exceeds the seemingly legalistic giving outlined in the Old.
It may help if we see tithing as giving back to God 10 per cent of what He has given us. So we retain 90 per cent, which is a pretty good position to be in.
A tithe is generally given ahead of any compulsory or additional charitable donations you may wish to make.

It is given unconditionally.
As to how much, some people agonise over whether it should be calculated on before-tax income or after-tax income. In a country with a very high tax regimen, 10 per cent of gross income in addition to tax may not leave very much to spare. On the other hand, there may be many welfare and civic benefits provided as a result of that higher tax that would otherwise have to be paid for by an individual. And does it include 10 per cent of fringe benefits, or before pension or superannuantion contributions, the benefit of which is postponed and upon which you may pay tithe later?

The answer is that there is no right or wrong. It is between you and God. Seek His guidance in prayer. It may be much more than 10 per cent!
Obviously, it isn’t a simple calculation.

your workplace
How does one accommodate being in business where the goal is to make a good profit, earning a lot of money, with being a godly, humble person? There’s a need to remain on your guard, for sure, for the temptations of riches quickly and easily infiltrate the soul. But here are some pointers to help:

Use the skills and gifts God has given you to the very best of your ability, and so to His glory.
Seek God’s purpose for you in your company, and how best you can serve Him there.
If you are a manager, be a “servant-leader”—try to relate to your staff with a willingness to serve them. There will also be times when you will need to shepherd your staff. This means seeking out that member of your team who is struggling and endeavouring, if you can help, to make a difference to him or her.
No matter how junior your staff, they will nevertheless be adults and entitled to be treated with respect and caring. Remember your own days as a junior staff member.
If they’re receptive, pray with your colleagues and staff. Develop a work-based fellowship group, if possible. Pray for the company and its executives.
If you are a member of staff, it’s about relationships with your colleagues and always giving of your best; you are God’s witness there.
Be clear about your faith, without imposing it or causing others embarrassment. Don’t hide it.

ethics
The ethical principles of business are found in the Bible. Avoid the trap of trying to define “business ethics” in isolation. There’s no such concept. There is only one set of ethics for the Christian, and they’re the same at work as at home. To think otherwise would be to imply that a different value system exists in the workplace.

The great test will always be the golden rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” You can judge any action against this. Ask yourself if a particular action within your company is uncompromisingly right, or not. Ask God to direct your thoughts on this. You will soon know whether you are in an ethical business or not.

daily living
Try to keep a balance in your life: God–family–work–play. We are often drawn into a frenetic work style that dominates our life to the detriment of family and spiritual relationships. If this happens, check your priorities—you may well have left God at home when you went to work. Remember that God wants to be part of all your life, not just in church.

Stay in touch with Him during the day. A silent prayer before or in the middle of difficult meetings can work wonders!

Remain humble, no matter how exalted your position in an organisation. It is by God’s grace and the talents He has given you that you are where you are. Stay in touch with junior staff and those at the bottom of the corporate tree, letting them know you really care about them.

Guard against falling into the debt trap. When you take on debt, it comes the responsibility of repaying it. Don’t crimp your giving because you owe.

At the funeral of a rich man, I recall him being described as one who knew and understood the responsibility of money. He was described as judicious and generous with his wealth, not flamboyant. He didn’t spoil his family, but he did make a difference in the lives of others through his generosity. It’s such an epithet we need at our own funeral.

And, if we constantly submit ourselves to God, we will learn how best to use what He’s given us. Our response should be to thank Him for it, giving Him the glory for it, submitting that it is through His grace that we have it.

Adapted, with permission, from Signs of the Times (South Africa).

EVER heard of the Global Rich List?

I recently checked an Internet site http://www.globalrichlist.com. You enter your annual income and it tells you where you are on the scale of the world’s richest to poorest. But the Global Rich List (GRL) isn’t about conceit or pride. Rather, it’s a reminder to the rich of this world that they should be more charitable to its poor.
“Three decades ago,” says a statement on the site, “the people in well-to-do countries were 30 times better off than those in countries where the poorest 20 per cent of the world’s people live. By 1998, this gap had widened to 82 times.”
Next I went to the web site of the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and read a news release of September 8, 2003. “Roy Morgan Research asked Australians what is the smallest amount that a family of four—two parents and two children—need each week to keep in health and to live decently,” it said. The average response was $A541 per week. “The results indicate that around 100,000 unemployed families who are solely on social security payments of only $A519 a week are falling below this ‘community poverty line,’” it concluded.
I took the ACOSS suggested poverty line figure and annualised it, converted that into US dollars ($A1=$US0.78) and entered it into the GRL. According its calculations, if you are living on or above the ACOSS “poverty line,” you’re still among the world’s top 10.6 per cent of the world’s population by wealth! But according to the ACTU (in the Sydney Morning Herald, January 29, 2004), this same family needs $A868 to live on. Such a wage would put them in the top 0.85 per cent of the world’s population by wealth.
I realise this is an extremely simplistic exercise and analysis—the wage is being shared four ways, for example—but for the 88.5 per cent of the world’s population that’s looking at you and your family, Mr Average, you are rich indeed!
The GRL claims that some 3 billion people earn less than $US2 per day and 1.3 billion earn less than $US1 per day, of whom 70 per cent are women.—Norman Tew

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