When I was a child, a favorite series of books for me
was The Borrowers. This
series followed little people living inside the homes of full-sized people and
all the adventures that came with “borrowing things” and going unnoticed so as
to keep their existence comfortable and safe.
I have been a “borrower” as of late, learning about
extending grace and dignity to mistreated people groups during two conferences
in January. First came the Gay Christian Network conference in Portland, Oregon,
and then basking in the wisdom of Nick and Claire Wolterstorff during the
Justice Conference in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Add to these experiences the opportunity to absorb the refreshing and inspiring presentation of Marva Dawn from her book Keeping the Sabbath Wholly during Calvin’s ReGathering celebration. (You may notice I am “borrowing” from Marva and adapting a bit for the title of this blog.)
Add to these experiences the opportunity to absorb the refreshing and inspiring presentation of Marva Dawn from her book Keeping the Sabbath Wholly during Calvin’s ReGathering celebration. (You may notice I am “borrowing” from Marva and adapting a bit for the title of this blog.)
As I grow in years, the quantity of my questions is also
growing—rather than resolving. How does one conduct him/herself in such a way
to keep stewardship wholly? Does justice have a role in our stewardship
practices? Are my stewardship practices self-serving? Are they promoting
dependency rather than dignity?
A previous post on this blog addresses the idea that
all our resources are gifts from God in various stages of abundance—placed
under our care for purposes of advancing the kingdom, holy expressions of
worship while caring for the global community.
When
I consider what it means to fully embrace stewardship, I consider the new
understandings of justice and the more holistic approach needed to redeem injustice.
These are corollary principles for stewardship.
The holistic
approach to stewardship, much like the call to act justly, demands that we ask
the hard questions about the social or political structures that are operating
in our communities which often cause injustice, fear and dependency. Justice
has a role in our stewardship practices in that we are to respect all of God’s
creation and treat others with dignity. A holistic approach to stewardship
calls me to manage all my resources such that basic needs are provided to
others without creating a culture of dependency.
How much easier is it for us to check the charity box and feel satisfied we have given rather than to investigate and pursue matters of justice. We prefer to give a gift, and often even expect favors in return, than to think deeply about matters of justice. We prefer to not investigate too deeply for fear that social and/or political change might impact our personal, comfortable situations.
Let’s be courageous enough to ask: Am I willing to surrender any of my comforts for the opportunity to bring greater justice into our communities? Am I willing to surrender my privileges for another’s safety and dignity?
I think we believers might agree that the real challenge gets personal. The real questions get personal. The real growth gets personal. But it’s all for a global purpose.
Along the way, we can find encouragement in the fact that we are prompted in this questioning by a God who holds the answers.
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