I was about six years old when I became conscious about stewardship as a family practice. In the Philippines’ rural towns, rice palays harvested from the farms are brought to town by carabao-pulled carts which we called “careton” (in our Pangasinan dialect). One afternoon, I was seated beside my father as he counted the “careton” of harvested palay passing in front of our house and turning towards a small street that goes to our rice granary. Then I noticed that the tenth “careton” proceeded straight to town, so I asked my father, “Papa, where is that “careton” going? He replied matter-of-factly, that goes to our Church.
Many Christian churchgoers seem to take “stewardship” for granted in their life. Some think that it is biblical coercion to force people give to the work of the church. Many of us we just rely on our pledges and offering every Sunday morning. But let me share with you some of my readings on Stewardship.
“What is stewardship? Stewardship
is a way of life. It is a way of living each day in gratitude for all the
blessings that God has given to us. The roots of stewardship can be found in
the Bible, which tells us over and over that God is the Creator and Giver of
all gifts. It is our responsibility to show our gratitude to God for these
gifts, by giving back to Him the “first fruits.”
We do not own the gifts God gives to us. We are only here on earth to use
those gifts to do God’s work.
A Christian steward as one who:
- Receives God’s gifts gratefully
- Cherishes and tends them responsibly
- Shares them in justice and love
- Returns them to God.
We are truly giving Him the “first fruits” just as God asked us to do in the Bible.
Many of us still have to put these thoughts into practice. We need to take a
leap of faith as we remind ourselves that God loves us and wants us to have all
that we need to live a joyful and productive life. It is in giving that we
receive.