The Cost of Stewardship: Investing as Worship

What does it really mean to part with “all I have” for Christ?

That’s the haunting question Benjamin Beddome asked in his 18th-century hymn:

“And must I part with all of self, my dearest Lord, for Thee?”

Beddome, a humble English pastor who served one small congregation for fifty years, wrote over 800 hymns—not to publish, but to help his people sing the truth home to their hearts. In that single line, he captured the essence of stewardship: surrender. Every steward investor must face it: Am I truly willing to release not just my wealth, but my self—my security, reputation, and comfort—for the sake of Christ and His Kingdom?

Money is never neutral. It either builds or breaks, heals or harms. To invest as a steward is to align capital with God’s character—promoting dignity, protecting creation, and advancing the Gospel. As Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21, NIV). The way we invest reveals who we trust.

Surrender takes many forms:

1. Security

We cling to retirement accounts and savings for safety. Yet stewardship invites us to release fear—directing resources toward ventures that bring long-term flourishing even if short-term returns are smaller. Our security rests not in markets, but in the Maker.

2. Legacy

Passing wealth to our children feels natural, but the greater inheritance is faith. Stewardship may mean dedicating significant portions of our estate to Kingdom purposes, showing our children that generosity, not accumulation, is the true measure of success.

3. Reputation

Faithful leaders sometimes lose contracts or prestige when they choose integrity over profit. Beddome’s second verse reminds us that one look from Christ “will more than make amends for all the losses I sustain.” The steward investor measures gain in eternal terms.

4. Comfort

Lifestyle choices reveal loyalties. We need not reject beauty or rest, but we do reframe them. Leisure, when consecrated, becomes restoration for mission rather than retreat into indulgence.

In Beddome’s final verse—“Ten thousand worlds, ten thousand lives, how worthless they appear compared with Thee”—we glimpse the ultimate investment principle: Christ Himself is the incomparable return. When we see wealth through that lens, capital becomes seed, planted for community flourishing and Gospel fruit.

A century later, Frances Ridley Havergal answered Beddome’s question in her hymn of consecration: “Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.”

That’s the call of the steward investor—to turn ownership into offering, transaction into worship.

The real question isn’t whether we can afford to surrender, but whether we can afford not to. Will we cling to portfolios that fade, or release them into God’s hands for eternal yield?

“Only one life, ’twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.” — C.T. Studd.