In the previous two essays I spoke of the importance of Discipleship and Fellowship.  This week I want to speak to another  element of our Christian life that is, in my opinion, all too often ignored or minimalized, and that is Stewardship.

Unfortunately, Stewardship has taken a bad rap in recent years.  Stewardship committees are formed to find ways to increase financial revenue for the church.  Stewardship drives are held to encourage members of the churches to be more disciplined and regular in their giving to the church.  While “financial” stewardship is important, it is far from the only form of stewardship to which we should hold ourselves accountable.  And it’s in the loss of these other forms of stewardship where many churches suffer and struggle.

Stewardship is about the effective utilization of all of the gifts we’ve been blessed with, not just our financial resources.  It could be the gift of teaching, or administration, or organization, or outreach, or cooking, or speaking, or a gift of ministry to the sick, or homebound.  It is any gift of Christian love, compassion or ability that can be shared with the church, the members of the congregation and the members of the community.  As Paul points out there are many gifts that emanate from the One True Spirit.  We are most effective as Christians when we utilize our many gifts, working together to reach out to one another and to our communities, and to strengthen and grow our churches.

Using our gifts blesses others; we have these gifts for a reason!  They’re not to be carefully stored away, never to see the light of day.  Instead they’re to be used regularly and celebrated as riches that increase the spiritual wealth of our community, and advance the Kingdom of God. 

Additionally, we ourselves are blessed as we utilize our gifts, and they grow with use.  Speakers become better speakers.  Organizers become better organizers.  Leaders become better leaders.  Teachers become better teachers.  Ministers become better ministers.  Not only do the gifts grow, but our spirituality grows as well once we become willing tools for the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us.  Gifts that are not use will never grow to their full potential, or enrich our lives, and that is a great loss.

Unfortunately, there are two principal reasons that people choose to never use the gifts that they have been given to enhance their churches and their personal spiritual growth.  The first of these is the “I don’t have anything to offer” attitude.  We all have something to offer!  It’s just a matter of finding out what it is!  To say one has no gift is to deny the grace of the Holy Spirit to empower us, and to provide the tools that the community (the church) needs in order to function properly and effectively.  Each and every one of us has something to contribute, something to offer that makes our churches better places to be, and in the doing, we become better Christians, growing in our personal spirituality.  It’s a cycle of blessing; the more we do, the more we grow.  The more we grow, the more we do!  The riches, the blessings just keep coming and coming!

The second reason some folks won’t share their gifts is selfishness.  “Yes, I have this gift and I know I could help out here, but I don’t want to do it right now.  Maybe next year, when I have more time.”  This sort of attitude is very sad.  A person has a gift, an ability, something they recognize as being useful and yet, because it’s “inconvenient” at the moment, they put off their offering.  And yes, it is an offering.  It’s an offering of “self.”  A gift to God of our time and our talent.  It’s in keeping with, and a reflection of Christ’s offering of Himself for us.

If every Christian would give of themselves a little time and a little effort, our churches could accomplish so much more.  Have you ever heard of the “80/20 Rule”?  It says that within any given group, 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people.  Imagine how much more could be accomplished if 100% of us gave 100% effort?  The sky would be the limit, and nothing would be impossible for us! 

I encourage you to think about what you have to offer to, and through the church.  Yes, our financial resources are important, and I do hope you have a structured plan for your financial support of the church.  But giving money is no substitute of the giving of ourselves.  What God wants is for us to give of ourselves; to be the serving hands, the friendly voice, the sympathetic ear, the whispering of prayer, the proclaimer of the Gospel, the teacher of our youth, the visitor of those in homes, hospitals and prisons.  Each and every one of us!

What is your gift, and how are you using it to proclaim God’s glory, and to work towards the coming of God’s Kingdom?  If the answer to that isn’t already on the tip of your tongue, you need to get busy!  Your church is waiting for you!