Stewardship of our treasure involves both our money and our belongings.

Being good stewards of our belongings can mean using something until the end of its life rather than replacing it prematurely for the latest new thing;

It can mean giving away the stuff we don’t use to the needy like our yard sale for charities or Ruth’s House or the Salvation Army

Even though we acquired these things with money we earned, they should be respected and cared for as belonging to God – we are but temporary owners of our clothes, and furniture, our cars and house.

Likewise with our money. “You can’t take it with you” is true, and many of the psalms attest to it. 

And even though we have worked hard for our money, it is God who gave us the ability to work, and to earn. And therefore I would argue that our money belongs to God.

The thinking behind pledging or tithing is that all we have is on loan from God and truly belongs to God. The Old Testament practice of dedicating the firstborn to God or giving one tenth of the harvest or the first fruits, etc. is based on this idea.

And that brings me to pledging.

When we pledge, we are making a promise that we will try to give a specific amount to maintain our church's mission and ministry.  Pledging enables the Budget Committee to plan our annual spending. But more importantly, pledging is one way that we, as disciples, can tangibly give back to God a portion of what we have been given.

For a Zion Pledging FAQ sheet, click here.