Many Catholics wince when they hear the word stewardship.  It's a reaction prompted by a mistaken notion that stewardship is just another way the Church asks for money.  This is not true.

 

The Life of a Christian Steward
The decision to share one's financial resources with one's communion of faith is an important aspect of being a Christian steward.  But that is only part of the story. Christian stewardship is the commitment made in response to God's generosity: to live a life of gratitude; to make daily decisions to glorify God; and to share

oneself and one's gifts generously as circumstances and talents allow.

 

A life of gratitude is the first mark of a Christian steward.  God has endowed His followers with more gifts than they can imagine- life and faith, time and relationships, health, talents, skills and material wealth. Everything one has is a gift from God, and a Christian thanks God daily for these blessings.

Stewardship Involves Daily Choices
Stewardship means making daily, conscious choices that glorify God. Decisions are made daily that reveal a person's priorities.  The axiom, "Tell me to what you pay attention and I will tell you who you are," holds true.  There are such things as self-glorification and the exaltation of wealth, social status, race, success, power, peace of mind and security. However, one should be able to recognize the Christian disciple by the place God has in his or her daily life.

 

Christian stewards regard success, a high standard of living and the accumulation of material objects as secondary to a life of generosity, hospitality, and the privacy of personal relationship. In making these decisions, culture's values are turned upside down.

We Give Thanks for God's Blessing
The best way to respond to God's loving generosity is by reflecting that generosity day by day. Take time for prayer; nurture relationships with family and friends; participate in the worship life of the community of Christians; and act out of loving concern on behalf of others in the world. What God does in Jesus' human life is a much magnified version of what happens when one's personal schedule is rearranged to be with someone who is lonely or despairing, or when creative ways are devised to volunteer talents for the parish, or when family budgets and spending habits are reprioritized in light of the Gospel. The stewardship question is not, "Should I do these things?" but rather, "How much should I do?"

The Decision is Ours
Ultimately, stewardship comes down to personal decisions about how each of us lives, and how each of us will respond to God's gifts based on our experience, self-knowledge and the call of God's grace. There is the paradoxical truth, hallowed in the New Testament, that by giving ourselves to someone or something beyond ourselves, we discover our own best self: "He who loses himself for my sake will find himself."

(MT 10:39)

 

Living as Christian stewards should bring a deeper and more solid joy, and confidence about being disciples of Jesus Christ. Though Christians have not seen Christ, they are assured, by dint of a faith truly lived and the life that comes to those who dare to believe and trust.