What Lies Beneath?

At 1:25 a.m. on Thursday, June 24, 2021, Champlain Towers South, a 12-level beachfront building in Florida, collapsed. Tragically, 98 people died, others were injured, and many families were left grieving. What was the cause of this great loss? Investigators discovered serious structural problems hidden deep within the building—problems that most residents never saw. The tragedy was a sobering reminder that what lies beneath the surface often determines whether a structure stands or falls.

Foundations are not seen, and as a result they are inspected too rarely. What about in our own lives? Are we building on solid rock? It is critical that we dig down and look at our foundations, because it is on our foundation that everything else stands.

Our spiritual foundations can be good or evil. The apostle Paul told Timothy that if we look at the foundation of “all kinds of evil” we find “the love of money” (1 Tim. 6:10). If we dig down to the foundation of stewardship, which talks a lot about money, what do we find? The answer may surprise us.

It may come as a surprise to many people that the foundation of stewardship isn’t money.

Start With Why

In speaking of the offering to be collected for Christians who were suffering during a famine in Judea, Paul appealed to Corinthian church members, asking them for financial support. “Therefore show to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf” (2 Cor. 8:24). Notice that the members’ giving was proof of their love.

This theme runs throughout Scripture. God’s concern is never merely what we give, but why we give. He is interested not only in the gift but in the heart behind it.

American author and cofounder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church Ellen G. White wrote much on the topic of stewardship. As we read her writings, we see one word being used over and over. In the first section of Counsels on Stewardship, Ellen White describes the foundation of stewardship, and she uses the word “love” more than 30 times!

On page 19 we read: “Paul sought to uproot the plant of selfishness from the hearts of his brethren; for the character cannot be complete in Christ when self-love and covetousness are retained. The love of Christ in their hearts would lead them to help their brethren in their necessities.”

And again on page 23: “In His infinite love He has granted men the privilege of becoming partakers of the divine nature, and, in their turn, of diffusing blessings to their fellow men. This is the highest honor, the greatest joy, that it is possible for God to bestow upon men. Those are brought nearest to their Creator who thus become participants in labors of love.”

It may come as a surprise to many people that the foundation of stewardship isn’t money—it’s love. Faithful stewardship can be summarized as loving God and people with all you have and all you are.

An Alternative Way to Live

The culture around us often measures success by accumulation. We are encouraged to acquire more, earn more, save more, possess more, and protect more. Security is frequently defined by what we own. The gospel offers a radically different vision. Jesus places love—not possessions—at the center of life.

The kingdom of God operates according to different values. It teaches us that true wealth is found not in what we keep but in what we share. Greatness is measured by service. Leadership is expressed through humility. Abundance is discovered through generosity 

Paul reminds us of this in Romans 13:8-10: “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. . . . love is the fulfillment of the law.” Of course, Paul was just sharing Jesus’ own words in John 15:12: “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

When Good Isn’t Enough

In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Paul clearly shows that love is the foundation of stewardship. He lists many “good” things, even great things, and compares them with the greatest thing: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.”

Wow! Paul is saying that I can be a multilingual, prophecy-preaching holder of seven university doctorates, a deeply self-sacrificing giant of faith who gives away everything to the poor and even becomes a martyr for the cause of God, yet the whole of my life can be a wasted existence because I didn’t live a life of love!

In Counsels on Stewardship we read, “Christ came to this world to reveal the love of God. His followers are to continue the work which He began.”¹ Revealing God’s love through the Spirit-led management and giving of our time, talents, testimony, and treasure is the heart of stewardship.

Again, we see this principle outlined beautifully in The Desire of Ages: “Love to man is the earthward manifestation of the love of God. It was to implant this love, to make us children of one family, that the King of glory became one with us. And when His parting words are fulfilled, ‘Love one another, as I have loved you’ (John 15:12, KJV); when we love the world as He has loved it, then for us His mission is accomplished. We are fitted for heaven; for we have heaven in our hearts.”²

We can give without loving, but we can’t love without giving.

How Could I Have Missed It?

Since becoming a Christian, I had read John 3:16 hundreds of times—but I didn’t see this. I’d memorized it, sung about it, listened to sermons on it—but missed a key point. It’s the Bible’s most famous verse, a foundation of faith—how could I have missed this gem of truth?

John 3:16 begins with “For God so loved the world that He gave . . .” The message is so clear and so obvious, but I’d overlooked it. What treasure had I not seen? Love gives!

We can give without loving, but we can’t love without giving. When we love God, we love His people, His mission, and His church, so we give. That’s what love does. Love gives. We don’t give to be blessed; we give because we are blessed. Because we are loved, we love.

What a beautiful truth it is that “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16), and that we are created in His image. We are created in the image of perfect love!

A God-inspired Wish

The story is told of a man, we’ll call him Peter, who received a new sports car as a gift from his brother. One day he drove it into the city and parked it on the street while he did some shopping. On returning to his car, loaded down with shopping bags, he saw a young homeless boy with wide eyes staring at the shiny new vehicle.

As Peter approached the car, the boy shyly asked, “Excuse me, sir. Is this your car?”

“Yes, it is,” Peter replied. “My brother gave it to me. It was a gift.”

The boy’s eyes lit up with surprise at the thought of such a generous and expensive gift. “Wow!” he said. “That’s incredible! I wish . . . I wish . . .” but before he could finish his sentence, Peter finished it for him.

“Yes, I know, son. You wish you had a brother like that.”

“No, no, sir. That’s not it,” the boy quickly replied. “I wish . . . I just wish I could be a brother like that.”

The difference is profound. One response focuses on receiving, while the other focuses on giving. One asks, “What can I get?” The other asks, “What can I give?”

So what is the foundation of faithful stewardship, the heart of our giving? It’s love. The heart of stewardship is, and always has been, love.