God will not be Out Done in Genorosity...
This concept should instill in us trust in our life as a Christian Steward. The spirituality of Stewardship encourages us to constantly take stock of our lives as disciples and offer our actions in a grateful response to all that God has given to us. Given that we have officially passed the halfway point of this year, it allows for the perfect time to revisit our efforts and how we are living our stewardship through action.
Stewardship is the grateful response of a Christian Disciple who recognizes and receives God’s gifts and shares these gifts in love of God and neighbor. To help us live up to this response, let’s walk through the definition of what a Christian Steward embodies.
At its root stewardship by its definition is an act of gratitude, which for us, as Christians, needs to be the fundamental mentality of our life. There are a lot of mentalities that we can have. Many give into the ‘busy mentality’ in which says, “I’m busy, I’m stressed, there is so much going on.” Others give into the ‘I’m overwhelmed’ mentality, in which we run, we push, we lose sleep, and we feel exhausted and stretched thin. As a result, whenever people ask us to participate in stewardship, we feel as though we have no more to give.
However, the actual mentality of a Christian should be fundamentally the ‘I’m grateful’ mentality, in which we recognize that we are a blessed people. This mentality takes work for us to “put on the mind of Christ” (Phil 2:5) that allows us to see our entire life in the terms of gratefulness. Gratitude is the cure for a challenging life, for there is no moment in our Christian lives when we cannot be fundamentally grateful for something. When we put on the eyes of gratitude we are searching always for God’s blessings. Gratitude is like harvesting a field. When noticing the grain I can pick the harvest, but if I never notice the grain I can never pick the harvest. Gratitude is noticing the blessings of God, so that we can make them apply to our life.
This gratitude is the grateful response of a Christian Disciple. Through gratitude, stewardship influences our discipleship. It is the active branch of our discipleship. Stewardship is to discipleship, what exercise is to a YMCA membership. If you have a membership to the YMCA and you never use it, it is a useless membership. If you are a disciple but you never act on your discipleship, it is meaningless. You cannot be a disciple without also being a steward of the gifts that God has given to you. Stewardship is the active branch of discipleship. It is the exercise of discipleship. Just as a person who loves another person acts for that person’s good. We, who love our God and love our neighbor, act according to the good of the God and neighbor of whom we love. Stewardship is then not only a grateful response but a mentality of gratitude. It is also then an extension of our discipleship that lets us know that, in fact, we are true disciples of Jesus Christ.
We must also recognize and receive our gifts. You cannot be a steward of gifts which you do not know you have. In the same way that we try to harvest God’s blessings, we also recognize the gifts which God has given us so that we might be able to use them. It is common for us all to feel envious of other peoples’ gifts and talents. There may be a particular time in all of our adolescent lives where we looked at someone else and said “I wish that I could be more athletic,... more intelligent,... taller, ... shorter,... richer. I wish that I could have what (Billy), (Jimmy), (Johnny), or (Sue) has rather than what I have.” There is a type of jealousy that can creep into us so that whenever we take stock of ourselves, in our own mind, we find ourselves lacking.
Yet, God has blessed us in so many ways, with gifts and talents that are unique to each of us. It is an act of stewardship to first recognize those gifts and then to receive those gifts; not to be envious of what others might have. We should rejoice in the gifts that make us unique individuals. Then, by rejoicing in our own gifts, our talents can be fruitful for other people. If I never recognize my gifts, then I will never receive my gifts, then I can never appropriately share those gifts with other people.
The grateful Christian Disciple then shares these gifts with others. This word “share” is a uniquely important word in the entire life of stewardship. Because sharing is actually a very simple way for us to understand the gift of self that is natural to God. You see the life of the Trinity is a life in which they give themselves to one another. The Father gives himself to the Son, the Son gives Himself to the Father and in that bond of love, is the Holy Spirit. The Trinity did not need to create anything. Creation was not a necessary action of God. So, if it is not a necessary action of God, we have to ask ourselves, “Then why would He do it?” The answer is because it’s in the nature of God to GIVE. We are a sheer choice of God for Him to share the gift of life. He simply said, “Here is my life.” All things are a fundamental gift of God. Even though He did not have to, he has chosen to give us existence. He gave give us breathe and life for eternity. What a beautiful thing this is to be able to simply exist.
Sharing is actually imitating God’s interior life. The Father shares Himself with the Son. The Son shares Himself with the Father, as well as the Holy Spirit. So too the Father shares Himself in creating us and all things. In the same way, stewardship is a fundamental act of sharing in imitation of God. Stewardship is a recognition, “I have gifts and talents.” By nature I share these because that is what humans do. We enter into relationship and communion with the fundamental reality that the relationship is the gift of self.
In one of the Gospels, Jesus says, “then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God” (Matt 22:21). We then must ask ourselves, “What belongs to God, that I may give it back Him?” The fundamental answer is EVERYTHING: everything is “God’s gifts.” There is nothing you have or you possess that is the result of your own activity. You did not create your body, nor your mind, nor your heart, nor your soul. Who you are, as you are, if you have any ability whatsoever, is because God has given you existence in life. Therefore, anything you possess is fundamentally an act of God who has bestowed blessings and gifts upon you. Stewardship is recognizing the fundamental gift of life and responding to the fundamental gift by sharing it with other people.
Why should we share our life with others? What motivates us to be stewards? Is it fear? EITHER be a steward OR you won’t go to heaven? There are a lot of things that can motivate us to give ourselves to other people that may not be authentic motivations. However, within stewardship, the motivation is love of God and love of neighbor. LOVE, at its root, is the gift of self, it is the right motivation for Stewardship.
We do not give to be seen, we do not give because we don’t trust others to do their part, nor do we give to have control over the gift. Those are not the motivators for true stewardship. The motivator for true stewardship is the good of the other person, the good of the community, the good of the parish, and the love of God and neighbor.
There is a real risk in stewardship. But we must remember God will not be outdone in generosity. Let us consider our time. We recognize that time is a precious commodity in most people’s lives. Sometimes we feel that we don’t have time to pray, “I don’t have time to go to the church to help out.” If you give of you time, He will bless you. God will not be out done in generosity.
Let’s consider our talents. God has bestowed upon you a certain amount of gifts that he expects for you to use. Perhaps you think to yourself, “My talent is not as good as someone else’s,” or, “somebody else can do an action better.” But you must understand that God has equipped you in a unique way. Every time you use your talents, for the good of other people God will bless you for the use of those talents. He will not be out done in generosity.
Let’s consider our treasure. There are very few people who say, “I have enough money.” The giving of our treasure is always difficult. The gift of our tithe, that 10%, is always a mentally challenging task. But this is one of the most concrete ways we recognize all that God has given us. Tithing is always an act of trust. I guarantee you this - God will not be out done in generosity. I have never seen a person forsaken who has faithfully given their 10%. Perhaps we will not have all the luxuries we desire, but you will not be lacking in what is necessary for you to life a full free and happy life. God will bless you for He will not be out done in generosity.
Stewardship is the (1) grateful response of a (2) Christian discipleship that (3) recognizes and receives (4) God’s gifts, and (5) shares these gifts in (6) love of God and neighbor. If you trust the fundamental foundation of the Gospel and give the time, talent, and treasure that God has asked of you, then your life will be overflowing with joy. Challenge yourself to increase your commitment to be stewards of God’s gifts knowing, full well, that God will not be out done in generosity.
Father Jarrod Lies, Pastor