Stewardship
Stewardship
Christian Stewardship
A Christian steward is a person who responsibly manages his/her time, talents, possessions and self. The faithful and wise steward is the one who knows that the Master has set him in charge of His household and gives him his portion of food at the proper time (Luke 12:42).
Stewardship embraces every area of life. It calls on us to realize that we are not owners of our time and talents. We are stewards, called to manage these gifts for a brief time, always responsible to the God Who entrusts them to us.
It is inappropriate for God’s Church to beg for offerings of time, talent, or treasury. Each of us should give because we need to give, we need to express to God our gratitude for His countless blessings to us. We give because we need to acknowledge practically in our lives with such concrete things as our time, talents and possessions that God does indeed come first; that He deserves the first and the best portion of all that I am and possess.
Offerings of Time
The Greek word for time is kairo. Its usage in the Septuagint suggests a “decisive point of time”. As for the righteous of the Old Testament, they were blessed to wisely discern that all points of time are given by God. In its New Testament usage, kairo is given intensity by Jesus and the moral teachings of Paul. “Decisive points in time” are ever reoccurring in the Christian life and must be recognized and actualized.
Our time should be wisely spent. We should find ourselves in Divine Services throughout the week (on time!) offering our supplications and our thanksgiving. We should find opportunities to study and grow in our faith. We should fellowship in filial love. We should minister to those in need. To neglect or deny the significance of our time in relation to our salvation is ultimately remaining blind to God’s will.
Offerings of Talent
Talent, is best understood as gifts of the Holy Spirit, “charismata.” Some of these gifts are spiritual manifestations, bestowed through the anointing with Holy Chrism, while others are gifts that are bestowed through the laying on of hands in the Rite of Ordination. It is this continuous presence of the Spirit that makes possible the constant, progressive, personal growth of the Christian into the image and likeness of God.
In God’s wisdom, we were all created to be different in our abilities and talents. The purpose of our unique, personal gifts, as attested by Scripture, is for the benefit of all. In this way the Church is built up as the Body of Christ of which we are all members. As for each member, each is equally as important as the next for the overall life and working of the body. The challenge is to not only discern God-given gifts, but also to employ them to His Glory.
Offerings of Treasure
In making our financial gifts to the Church, we are not paying for something. Just like our homes, we don’t pay for the meals we eat or the rooms in which we sleep; we don’t pay wages to anyone for services. We simply provide all the things necessary for our home to function efficiently and respond to the physical needs of the entire family. The same is true with the Church. We provide all the things necessary for the Church to function efficiently, to respond to the spiritual needs of all the members of the Body of Christ.
Our hope each and every year is to meet our operating budget through our financial gifts. In order to achieve this goal, we ask our families to follow the Biblical directive of tithing (10% of one’s treasurers). It’s important though not to forget that Jesus was not interested in 5%, 7% or even a tithe; He was interested in 100% of the person.
