Is there idolatry in our “good stewardship”?

By Kurt Armstrong and ChristianWeek | December 9, 2009

Other than stories about H1N1, these days nearly every news report has something to say about the economy. Economists and politicians banter about billion dollar bailouts and promise a quick return to business-as-usual with prosperity just over the horizon. But in this genuinely counter-cultural new book, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove has a different message: God's abundance is already here, and the best way to find it is by giving our money away.

Jesus had a lot to say about money, far more than he ever had to say about sex, and often it's pretty scary. He doesn't say that it's evil, but he does say it's an idol, "an idol that doesn't look like an idol," says Wilson-Hartgrove.

For a lot of us, our deep, ongoing concern about money tells us a lot about where our heart is, whether we have heaps of money or almost none. Savers and spenders alike miss the gist of Jesus' talk of the Kingdom of God. "God's abundance is more radical than many of us have dared to dream," he says. Blessing is about an entire way of living, not just about the number at the bottom of our bank statement.

Like his book, New Monasticism, this one doesn't separate personal spiritual practices from participation in church as God's community. Christian faith is embodied in communities of generosity and sharing. Wilson-Hartgrove suggests some pretty basic but very radical sounding steps towards abundance (he calls them tactics.) What would it mean to really trust that God will supply our needs? What bold decisions could we make to free ourselves from the power of money?

This is a scary book because it asks some deeply challenging questions about me and my money. Wilson-Hartgrove isn't trying to send us on a guilt trip, but he is trying to inspire very different ways of thinking. For example, he suggests that rather than investing money in savings accounts for our kids' education, we might be better off giving it away. That flies in the face of everything I assume about money, and it scares me to realize how much I depend on a certain level of income and savings.

But if money really is an idol, then what we sometimes consider "good stewardship" might actually be idolatry. And giving away our money might be one of the best ways to blaspheme mammon and declare our allegiance to the Kingdom of God.