It is time we steward and take care of the people, the relationships, the work, the land, the environment, the family, the faith community, and the villages that have shaped our existence.
Mother Teresa, founder of the Missionaries of Charity in 1950, once said we need to stay where we are and meet the needs we see every day.
“Find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering, and the lonely right there where you are — in your own homes and in your own families, in your workplaces and in your schools. You can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have the eyes to see. Everywhere, wherever you go, you find people who are unwanted, unloved, uncared for, just rejected by society — completely forgotten, completely left alone.”
Her Calcutta was Calcutta, India, where she met the needs of the poor, the orphan and the dying. In fact, the work she began continues to be carried out to this day by the Missionaries of Charity order of nuns.
My Calcutta, however, is different. I don’t live in India. But the call to love others, to offer them a cup of cold water in the name of Christ is my responsibility no matter where I am. It is a matter of stewardship.
Taking care of the resources and the people that are in front of you every day – that is stewardship. Stewardship is caring for, responsibly overseeing and protecting what is worth caring for and preserving, on behalf of the One who owns it and has made it all.
Stewardship is more than just a church sermon topic associated with church budgets, giving and building projects. It is a matter of seeing the world in front of you, valuing the people, the work and the creativity in that world, and then acting on how to care for, provide and build up that world.
Stewardship is a choice.
Stewardship is a journey of learning how to responsibly care for what God has given.
Stewardship is our gratitude in action.
Stewardship is seeing what God has made as valuable – including the poor, the orphan, the widow, and those who seem so different than ourselves.
We were commended by God in the garden of Eden to take care of the earth and steward what we have been given. The Psalmist says the earth is the Lord’s and all its fullness, and all those who dwell on that earth. It is His authority of care to give, and He has given it to us.
Our response – Where do you live? What do you do? Who crosses your path?
It is time to take the idea of stewardship out of the box. Dust it off. Consider what it really means in your life and how you can become a responsible caregiver for the world around you. This is not about Sunday morning giving. This is about a daily grateful expression of sacrificial living – a simple act of worship – in response to the outpouring of love, care and sacrificial life from Jesus Christ in obedience to our Heavenly Father. (See Romans 12:1,2)
This isn’t about you living for yourself. Stewardship is all about the other.
Next steps
Look at where you live.
Look at what you do.
Look at the people in your life.
Then prayerfully start asking yourself and God some questions about the role He would have you play.
How can I help?
Who can I help?
What resources – time, money, relationship, material goods, expertise – can I use to help others?
It may start with a smile, or buying a cup of lemonade from a small child.
It may continue with a listening ear to the sorrow of others, or buying a cup of coffee for someone you don’t know.
It may grow when you give away what you wanted to keep for yourself, or when you give up a day off to fix someone’s vehicle when they can’t pay you back.
Stewardship has all kinds of faces. So go find the face that needs you, and give with love, care, grace and mercy.
For when you have cared for others, you have truly loved and cared for Jesus.