19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
In the process of preparing for today's commentary, I came across an article that included 1st Corinthians 4:2, which has to do with the stewardship role that we play regarding our possessions. Here are the first two verses of that chapter:
1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
You may be familiar with the Green family, who are the owners of the Hobby Lobby craft store chain, a chain of stores that has come to be known for its adherence to Christian values, whose commitment to stand for Biblical principles at one point resulted in a Supreme Court victory over its conviction surrounding the sanctify of life.
The Hobby Lobby full-page ads around certain holidays, which center around Biblical truth, are legendary. And, the Green family was responsible for the establishment of Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC.
David Green is the CEO of Hobby Lobby, but not for too much longer, it seems, based on an announcement that was covered on the ChristianHeadlines.com website. The article says that Green wrote on the Fox News website: "Patagonia's founder recently made news when he gave away the ownership in his company to allow the mission and purpose to remain intact… I experienced a similar decision-making process with my ownership of Hobby Lobby; I chose God..." The article, from Monday, October 24, goes on to state:
During an interview on Sunday's "Fox & Friends Weekend," Green told anchor Will Cain that his calling is to be a steward rather than an owner.
"There's a huge paradigm change between owning a company and stewarding it, and we want to be stewards of what God has given us," Green told Fox News.
Green, who founded Hobby Lobby in 1972, told Cain that 100 percent of the company's voting stock was placed into a trust where the "stewardship" can continue to be conveyed from one person to another.
"All the voting stock is in 1% in its trust, and it is being managed and being stewarded instead of seeing ourselves as owners," he continued.
In his piece for FoxNews.com, Green also noted:
"For me, my source of truth has always been prayer and the Bible. I truly believe that if leaders pray and seek truth from the Bible that their businesses will be revolutionized," he wrote.
"For instance, the Bible talks about giving a tithe or 10%… Can you imagine what would happen if every top leader in business became a tither? There would be literally billions available for good work around the world."
He also contrasts ownership with stewardship. Christian Headlines reported that Green stated, "The biggest challenge is to ask the question of whether you are an owner or a steward – a manager of what you've been entrusted with..." David Green also noted:
"From the very beginning, our purpose was to honor God in all that we did. We worked hard, and God gave the results. As we were blessed by God, we saw it as a great privilege to give back. We've been able to provide hope through supporting ministries and planting churches all over the world."
The founder of Patagonia decided to step aside so that his "mission" of fighting climate change would continue. David Green's decision reflects his desire to be more effective for the mission of God. From a Biblical standpoint, we can ask ourselves if we are an owner or a steward?
We can consider whether or not we are holding too tightly to the financial resources and material possessions that God has given to us. If we are simply an owner, the use of those resources is determined by us and we have to be careful not to be consumed by the pursuit of our own pleasures. But, if we are a steward, we have declared that we have a Kingdom mindset: the possessions that we have been given to us by God, and we can make decisions about the use of them based on the Scriptures.
It's about motivation, and it's about missions. The Bible talks about storing up our treasures in heaven, recognizing that we don't take earthly possessions when we leave this world - but if we have a heavenly mindset, those resources can continue to be used to touch and change lives even when we are no longer here. David Green wants to be sure that the wishes of the ultimate owner are carried out, which is why he has adopted the posture of steward, rather than owner.
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