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“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’   — Job:1:21

There’s the joke about the nosy neighbor attending a rich woman’s funeral. Peering into the coffin with a friend, he asked, “How much money did she leave?” The friend smiled and replied, “All of it, of course!”

As Job laments, we come into the world naked and leave the same way. We may be dressed in our best clothing on our way out, but we take it to the grave, not the afterlife.

The joke and Job reveal a basic concept of stewardship: We don’t really own anything. We may take possession of it for a period of time, but we eventually leave it for others.

Yet we spend so much of our energy and life accumulating more and more – as if we were going to have it forever, as we were going to live forever. The danger is that absorbed with accumulating wealth, we shortchange the most valuable treasures – loving the Lord our God with all our being and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

That’s why the Bible consistently warns us about wealth. Jesus repeatedly points out the pitfalls. Money and possessions can turn us inward, stunting our growth and preventing us from being the people God created us to be.

Generosity is the preventative cure for this malady. The Bible counsels that tithing – giving away 10 percent of our income – is a good benchmark for faithful giving (although on several occasions Jesus told his disciples to give away ALL their possessions).

Giving any amount substantial enough to be sacrificial is a declaration that you are free from the power that money might have over you. Because however much money you can accumulate in life, you will be like the rich woman in the joke: You will leave it all.