“
A Christian steward is one who receives God’s gifts gratefully,
cherishes and tends them in a responsible and accountable manner,
shares them in justice and love with others and returns them with
increase to the Lord.
”
U.S. Catholic Bishops Statement from “Stewardship: A Disciples Response”
Parish Stewardship
Produced by the Diocesan Office of Stewardship Development
Receiving God’s Gifts Gratefully.
The first characteristic of a Christian steward, as written by the U.S. Bishops’ is that
“we receive God’s gifts gratefully.” Because we know that we are unique individuals
within a larger community, we can see our gifts as part of the building blocks of God’s
kingdom here on earth. Our gifts were not given just to ourselves but to our family, our
neighborhood, our parish, our city, our country and the world, each of which is blessed
by our generous and loving Creator.
When we receive gifts we are often grateful to
the giver for their thoughtfulness or practicality
or humor in how they chose the gift for us. In
the case of God, all that we have is a gift of the
Creator. Genesis tells us of God’s creation and
allows us to recognize God as Creator and giver
of all gifts. How often do we show our gratitude
to God? How often do we receive gifts and fail
to recognize the giver? Can we return to the
simple yet challenging concept of God gifting us
with all that we have and choose to respond to
those gifts?
As we respond to God’s call to live our faith
daily, let’s pray for the grace to recognize the
gifts we have as being given by God. Help us to
receive those gifts with open hands and hearts
and be grateful to our loving God who has
blessed us with abundance. May God continue
to bless our stewardship efforts and help us
to know the love he offers us unconditionally
through Jesus Christ.
Three tangible ways a Christian Steward can live out their discipleship:
Time
All of our time should be God-centered which means using our time to honor God. We
should set aside a portion of our week to focus on strengthening our relationship with God
through prayer, Mass, scripture reading, and serving others.
Talent
We should assess our strengths and determine how they might help build the kingdom of
God. These strengths could be an outward talent like sewing or painting or an internal skill
such as organizing, telephoning, or listening. Each of us is gifted and can perform some
action to help others.
Treasure
Planning to return the first portion of our earnings to God is a way of showing our gratitude
and commitment to stewardship. Tithing, giving the first 10% of what we receive, is the
traditional (Biblical) guideline of how to give to God. Stewardship also means being responsible
for the other 90% or what is left and using it in a way befitting a God-centered person
embracing stewardship as a way of life.