If I told you today's sermon was going to be based on the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, you would rightly conclude (perhaps with a groan) that the topic was going to be stewardship. It seems to be the universal "go-to" passage because it covers a lot of ground—the money belongs to the Master rather than the investors, it's a long-term assignment, the rate of return matters, faithfulness matters more. This parable has probably become a favorite of pastors and Bible teachers because it communicates two foundational stewardship principles in one convenient bite-size piece—ownership and accountability.

There are other verses that teach individual principles, such as the ones that appear regularly in the Sound Mind Investing newsletter reminding us of the warnings against being in debt (Proverbs 22:7), the importance of saving for the future (Proverbs 21:20), why we should diversify our risk (Ecclesiastes 11:2), and how God feels about our giving to help others (2 Corinthians 9:6-15). These are all helpful in teaching us what we should do. But there's still something missing.

Many years ago, I learned to add a verse that is extremely important in this regard, yet is rarely used in the context of stewardship. A friend and I were talking finances over lunch, and I asked him what he thought the single most important stewardship passage was. Without hesitation, he replied, "Galatians 5:16." That threw me off because I (supposedly a financial stewardship guru) had no clue as to what Galatians 5:16 says. Do you? Here it is, straight from the apostle Paul:

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature" (NIV).

Or as the Living paraphrase puts it:

"I advise you to obey only the Holy Spirit's instructions. He will tell you where to go and what to do, and then you won't always be doing the wrong things your evil nature wants you to."

I immediately saw the wisdom of my friend's answer.

The main thing, the primary thing that keeps us from living up to a high level of commendable stewardship is usually not because we don't understand what needs to be done. We know what needs to be done, thanks to verses like those I initially mentioned. But we don't do it. We don't execute the game plan. Why not? Because the game plan requires us to master, to a significant degree, our old natures. The nature that wants what it wants, that puts self-gratification at the center of the decision-making process, that abhors sacrifice.