Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Heb. 13:16)
The practice of stewardship goes beyond the idea of charitable church giving and incorporates a desire to care for and protect the gifts that God has given us. In practicing stewardship, we must be mindful to remember that all things come from and belong to God. There is plenty for all to have shelter and to eat and to grow and flourish. This invites us to ponder the way in which we are to use creation. This notion is at the very heart of stewardship.
It is easy to slip into a gospel of prosperity if wealth and blessings are the focus. We should not seek to give so that in return, we might have wealth and blessings. The gospel of grace invites us to consider a response to how God has acted in creating and redeeming. With the gift of forgiveness, eternal life, and all of creation, what shall we do? We get to ask ourselves how we might act as a steward of God’s message and God’s kingdom as we journey through life.
Courtesy of The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, Ninth Bishop of Texas