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Stewardship demands a constant reexamination of what we are given and what we need and what our church and those around us need. God has given us plenty. It is just a matter of how we share it. |
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Resolve To Revise Priorities for 2004
New Years is a time to
reexamine everything as we make resolutions. I would like to
reexamine life in terms of the downward mobility that I talked
about from the Magnificat in
last week's column.
In seminary, I heard
about a church in Maryland that was constructing its first
building and asked everyone to think what they could sacrifice to
get the structure built. One family in the midst of the process
decided that they had bought too large and expensive a house for
their lifestyle. The house took too large of a chunk of their
money so they were always scrimping on other things including what
they gave to church and to charity and what they saved for their
children's future.
I was impressed when I
heard about them because at the time I was going through a
foreclosure. My children were in college and I was in seminary
and something had to give. I know I made the right decision at
that point to let the house go, since there was a slump in the
real estate market, we couldn't sell it for what we owed and we
were doing what we needed to be doing. I keep thinking, however,
that if I had had more foresight and bought less house or a house
in a different neighborhood then I could have done all the things
that God wanted me to with the money that God had given me.
Everyone will have great
advice for you about what you can afford. But rarely do they give
advice that includes what God would have you do with your money.
For young people, my
advice would be to sit with someone who will help you to plan for
a life that is not over your head. For the rest of us,
stewardship demands a constant reexamination of what we are given
and what we need and what our church and those around us need.
God has given us plenty. It is just a matter of how we share it.
I sat with an older
woman one day doing home communion. It was in a very nice middle
class house in a nice neighborhood. She said, "When we were young
we were buying a house and raising kids and now we are on a fixed
income. We have never had much for the church or for others."
Does this sound familiar? It was too late to tell her that if
giving was really first fruits then it would have been there
before the house was chosen or the cars or whatever their money
was spent on.
I am convinced that even
if we are making these decisions for selfish reasons and want to
be comfortable, we will be much more comfortable in a life that we
can afford with generosity and care for those around us. Then
God's abundance will be apparent to us and to those around us.
Lord,
Open our eyes to see
what it is we truly need and what the world needs of us, that our
lives might reflect your grace.
Amen Copyright (c) 2003, The Rev. Dana Reardon. Used by permission. The Rev. Dana Reardon (Mspastor@aol.com) is pastor at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Warwick, RI. A lifelong Lutheran, she came to ordained ministry after 21 years in nursing, mostly in pediatric intensive care. She graduated from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia in 1998 and served 4 ½ years in Upstate New York before becoming a New Englander. She is still trying to understand the accent. While in the Upstate New York Synod she chaired the Stewardship Team. That began her fascination with what makes stewards -- and more, what makes for generosity. She has three amazing daughters: Pastor Izzo says much of what she knows of life she learned from them.
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