From Scarcity to Abundance
How to Steward Your Gifts with Love and Generosity to Build a Thriving Spiritual Community
October 20, 2024
Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost, Year B
St. Stephen’s UMC, Burke, VA
1 Peter 4:8–11 (NRSVUE)*
*A Sermon Series on Stewardship
This message is part of a reflection on stewardship, exploring how we can honor God with the unique gifts and abilities entrusted to us. Among the many themes under stewardship, this message focuses on talents — those personal skills and passions that can glorify God and enrich our communities, alongside the stewardship of our time, resources, and faith.
Let me be direct. The purpose of the church’s annual stewardship campaign is to encourage generosity. I know this may not be everyone’s favorite sermon series because it’s a campaign of asking — for your time, talents, treasures, and faith. The reality is that the church depends on your generosity. It’s your giving that sustains and grows the life and mission of the church. Without it, we simply cannot operate. In this sense, we are similar to other nonprofits, who share their visions and testimonials every year to encourage support from their donors.
But here’s what’s obvious: the church isn’t just another nonprofit. And perhaps, the reason we do stewardship campaigns each year is to remind ourselves of this fact: Stewardship is not merely about funding; it’s about discipleship. Stewardship is a lifestyle of those who gather to make up the church as followers of Christ. Stewardship is how we, as followers of Christ, manage all that God has entrusted to us — including our time, talent, treasure, and faith — for the glory of God. And generosity is the practice that flows from a grateful heart committed to stewardship. In this sense, our generosity is not a response to the church’s asking. Rather, our generosity is a response to our baptismal call, to our new life found in Jesus Christ.
However, we must acknowledge a challenge: all of us are consumers first before we are disciples. We are trained daily from birth to be consumers, but only sporadically to be disciples of Jesus. During our recent trip to South Korea, my daughter wanted to buy many things. Of course, we couldn’t get everything she set her eyes on, so we used it as a teaching moment about financial management. We talked about spending only on things that are meaningful, unique, and necessary, all while sticking to our budget. What she took away, I think, was the need to be selective with our finite resources.
This mindset prevalent in the marketplace is what many of us bring into the church. With our limited time, talent, treasure, and faith, we are trained to be cautious, investing only in what we perceive as exceptional, something that we find meaningful, unique, or necessary. As a result, we often choose and give based on the church’s ‘products’ we like — the statements, the programs, the facilities, or its reputation. Likewise, the church can feel pressured to meet these expectations, offering products that appeal to key supporters to keep generosity flowing.
This is what we call a scarcity mindset — a perspective that sees our gifts as limited resources that must be guarded carefully. It leads to behaviors such as hoarding our talents out of fear, fostering competition instead of collaboration, and focusing more on what we lack than on what we have. It causes us to undervalue our own gifts by comparing them to others, and it makes us hesitant to invest in growth, rather than embracing and sharing the gifts we already possess.
The opposite of a scarcity mindset is an abundance mindset, which recognizes that there is more than enough to go around. This mindset fosters generosity, collaboration, and trust, grounded in the belief that sharing our gifts brings greater growth and blessings. I believe this abundance mindset is a defining mark of God’s household, reflecting the life Jesus promised when he said, “I came that [you] may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
The true purpose of our annual stewardship campaigns is to recover the heart of discipleship from the ashes of consumerism. It is about flipping our mindset of scarcity and discovering the mindset of abundance rooted in the transforming love of Christ. Our giving should not be driven by the church’s promises or products; rather, it should be driven by the divine grace that invites us to participate in the life of God’s household.
Today’s scripture from 1 Peter reminds us of what it means to be part of God’s household. Peter’s letter is addressed to house churches scattered across Roman provinces. In Roman society, the household wasn’t merely a domestic space; it reflected the empire’s social and political structures. Power, privilege, and honor were carefully distributed based on status, and these norms were fiercely guarded. In many ways, each household functioned as a microcosm of a caste system, clearly establishing a hierarchy and distinguishing between those who served and those who were served.
In this context, Peter’s exhortation to the house churches was countercultural and subversive enough to invite persecution. His call to love, offer hospitality, and serve each other — regardless of societal status — was a profound challenge to the status quo and a defiant act against the established social order.
What Peter was suggesting is that what set the church apart from the empire was its determination to follow Christ through their way of life, who came not to be served but to serve. Now, we must recognize that this famous verse from Jesus was a direct response to the scarcity mindset amongst his disciples.
In Mark’s Gospel, James and John asked to be seated next to Jesus in places of honor in his kingdom, one on his right and the other on his left. Jesus did not promise them anything, reminding them that such positions were not his to give. But the rest of the disciples were furious at their request, perhaps feeling they were competing for limited positions of honor. They seemed to believe that discipleship was a zero-sum game, where one person’s gain meant another’s loss.
And to this conflict, Jesus responded by saying,
“Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many” (vv. 43–45).
While a typical household of yesterday and today reflects the ethos of its society — often built on status and hierarchy — God’s household, the church, reflects the ethos of the kingdom of God exemplified in the life of Jesus Christ. And the mindset that sets us apart is one of abundance, not scarcity.
This mindset of abundance is also displayed in the story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand (Mark 6:30–44). At the sight of a hungry crowd, the overwhelmed disciples were ready to send them away, recognizing they didn’t have enough resources to feed them all. But what did Jesus say? “You give them something to eat.” Even before knowing they had only five loaves and two fish, Jesus believed there was more than enough to go around. And what was the result? Jesus fed the whole crowd and had them be satisfied, with twelve basketfuls of leftovers.
The mindset of Christ is one of abundance, and we are called to imitate it and pattern our lives accordingly with it. Peter’s letter suggests that this distinctive way of life would counter false accusations, inspire those outside the church to question the source of our hope, and ultimately glorify God. In other words, what proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ to the world is a household committed to loving one another, being hospitable to one another, and serving one another.
As members of God’s household, as today’s scripture tells us, we serve one another with whatever gift each of us has received, like good stewards of the manifold grace of God. In this household, every one of us is gifted, every one of us is a steward, and every one of us is called to serve. An abundance mindset would say that we have more than enough gifts, more than enough stewards, and more than enough people ready to serve.
How can we possibly complain when we believe there is more than enough for everyone? How can we grumble when there is no need to keep score? How can we feel overwhelmed when we let go of the anxiety of not having enough, the insecurity of having less than others, the fear of losing out, or the pride of comparison?
This is why we are told, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). When we embrace the mind of abundance, we no longer calculate our blessings — we love with all our hearts, minds, and souls. When we trust that there is enough for everyone, loving selflessly becomes easier. There is no fear in agape love, which covers a multitude of sins.
At St. Stephen’s UMC, we take very seriously Jesus’ command: “You give them something to eat.” There’s no doubt about that. But being good stewards sometimes means taking a step back and recognizing the gifts we already possess. Since stewardship sermons always call for a practical takeaway, my challenge for you this week is simple: spend time reflecting on the unique gifts and talents God has entrusted to you. If needed, I can send you a link to a spiritual gifts inventory to help you along the way.
If you are already familiar with your own gifts, I encourage you to go further — reflect on the gifts God has placed within our congregation. What gifts do each of us bring? What talents do the people around you possess? What abilities do those you worship alongside offer? Have you ever considered encouraging one another by acknowledging their unique strengths? In short, I’m inviting you to build relationships by being curious about one another. I’m inviting you to build a household marked by constant love for one another.
Friends, this church is blessed with more than enough gifts, more than enough stewards, and more than enough people ready to serve. Let’s discover the unique gifts and talents we have among us, trusting that God will do something miraculous through them.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Rev. Minoo Kim is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, currently serving in the Virginia Annual Conference. Follow his Medium publication to receive his latest sermons or check out his website minoowkim.com for his latest content. Peace!
