Trusteeship of resources 

The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 
-Psalms
You and I are trustees. Nothing belongs to us personally. The resources we have been given have been entrusted to every one of us individually and together. Like good bank trustees, we are expected not to squander these resources but to invest them wisely for our beneficiaries: the rest of life, especially the generations to come. This is especially true when it comes to our local church community.

The trust includes not only the lives and natural resources of the planet, but our inner spiritual resources as well. This has practical implications. We can lessen our potentially exhausting impact on the earth by simplifying our desires and demands. Simplicity is the key to trusteeship.
I find that simply writing a check to tithe(10% and up) the earnings I receive and send that check to my church is a simple way to insure that I am investing those entrusted, God given spiritual and financial resources wisely. This conviction has been maturing and growing in my life and has become a lifetime learning process for me, cultivated over 32 years of adult life. 
The ancients gave out of their agricultural production. The scripture describes how it was that ancient faith followers arrived at the tithe--many many years before Christ. They believed that God produced the gorwth of the crops, with his beneficient rain and sunshine, and fertile ground, so naturally, He deserved a portion of the agricultrual crops to support the right and good worship of the Source of All. The precedent was set. Our "produce" is a little bit more subtle, but it is not hard to see the analogy. Our church community is dependent on our giving--our faithfulness, our trust in the church--standing against the gates of hell. God has trusted us with this responsibility.
The underlying truth is this. Do I think God is real? Moreover, do I think He is able to provide for me and my family? Do I trust The Lord to provide for me and my family? 
The giving of tithes and offerings reflects that level of trust. It is that simple.
He entrusts. He has placed us in a trusteeship, holding the assets he has given us in trust. In turn, we are to trust in Him. This is not to be a capricious thing, subject to whether or not I feel like it, or whether I am mad at the music minister or am out of sorts with the preacher. It is an act of obedience, and faithfulness--to the Lord Himself.
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ~ Jesus the Christ ( Luke 6:8)
Jesus believed in it.
Our giving reflects and is indicative of our relative maturity as we grow in trust and in obedience to The Lord.

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