Wholistic Stewardship

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.)

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.

Stewarding shalom

Shalom is not an easy word to define if you depend on the English language for clarification.  I think the closest anyone has come is by using the phrase, "God's peace." A recent sermon on Jehovah Shalom (“the Lord is peace”) from the Old Testament prompted my "wonderings" about stewarding shalom. 

Shalom is given from God; it is His gift to us along with grace. A sense of shalom is captured in the beauty of creation, when all seems "right in the world," when reconciliation and renewal are evident. Still, even with our glimpses of shalom, it is so much more than we can see. It is spiritual, emotional and physical in its manifestation. I've written here previously about oikonomia, the concept of managing God's abundance to us.  Perhaps the essence of oikonomia includes stewarding shalom.

Stewarding shalom means participating in activities that bring peace, reconciliation, insight, deeper understanding and complete acceptance. Stewarding shalom is wise use of time and energy; taking in the surroundings, noticing the details, surrendering the pressure, listening to the still small voice. I find shalom after the conversations I didn't want to have, marveling at the variety of people I meet each day as well as arriving home from a business trip.  Discovering how to "take charge of stewarding shalom" is another one of the paradoxes for me. I find rest in knowing that truly “taking charge” is best accomplished by putting God in charge. 

Hospitality! Is that also something to be stewarded? Maybe I’ll probe that next time. Stay tuned.

Is there an app for that?

Remember the school days when the guest speaker came to give a care-for-the-earth pep talk? That’s when I started turning off the water while brushing my teeth and feeling guilty for long showers. Conserving water is a good thing; it’s environmentally conscious and it fosters responsible stewardship. The pep talk gave us the awareness and motivation we needed to take action in this area.

My wife and I recently purchased an ’09 Camry, complete with onscreen monitoring of our gas usage. While traveling through the city and down the highway, this vehicle records and reports our usage. My driving habits have been significantly impacted by this immediate feedback—my acceleration has slowed, I roll to a stop far in advance, and I find myself setting the cruise control lower. The feedback (and subsequent personal goal setting) has had an amazing influence on my driving. I’m conserving fuel like never before, and I’m highly motivated to increase my miles per gallon with every new tank.

It makes me wonder: What if there was an app for my stewardship of God’s abundance to me? If my iPhone recorded my daily efforts at sharing my wealth, would that awareness make me more motivated? And is this motivation the appropriate motivation?

The end results of my changed driving habits are positive in so many ways, carrying me another step in learning to manage God’s abundance to me. Overall, I like this modern day shift in consciousness towards stewardship. How about you?

Revealing contrast speaks volumes

The Widow’s Offering
As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times
Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.” Luke 21:1-6 (NIV)

A Lenten commitment brings me into the book of Luke this season. A previously unnoticed contrast struck me recently: The story of the widow's mite is set in the temple grounds. Jesus observed the sacrifice of the widow giving all she had, and next we read of the disciples asking about the beauty that adorns the temple. Jesus' response is to talk of the destruction of such things and to encourage them to not be deceived.

Deceived by what? The false security of comforts that come and go and quickly fade? The impression that wealth provides safety, security, protection and evidence of “rich” faith?

Jesus knew the widow's heart; her motivation was the love she had for her God. She had no fear, reminding me of 1 John 4:18, which says there is no fear in love—perfect love drives out fear.

Do I have the love exemplified by the widow, or do I hold tightly to what will fade away? Do I have the courage to live like the widow? Am I willing to give all I have with no worry about tomorrow? These are questions I can carry with me throughout Lent, and beyond.

The “O” word

Four years ago a seed was planted by a friend of Calvin College!

A conversation began standing around a kitchen counter—sharing, praying, celebrating God's abundance. It was then I learned of the Stewardship Bible; now a daily part of my life. Years of disciplined reading the scriptures because it was a good habit has turned into eager anticipation of "what do YOU have for me today?" 

Reading the scriptures from a perspective of stewardship has made me familiar with the Greek word "Oikonomia." It is the root of the word for economy. More than that, it is a word that means "managing a household." All that is entrusted to me demands my faithful attention, my intentional watch of detail, my purposeful accountability. I like to think of all these perspectives as definition to the task I am called to, a task we are believers are all called to, that of stewardship.

Oikonomia was chosen with intention as the subject of this blog. Let's travel this road together. Enjoy, respond, change, adapt and join me on this journey of understanding stewardship. Those who know me know of my love for adventure; this journey is not for the weak of heart.