A Stewardship Fable:
A group of scientists, intent on discovering and reproducing the mysteries of life, realized that they had accomplished their goal. They knew how to do what supposedly the Creator had done, making life out of the dust of the earth. Now that we can do this, reasoned the scientists, we don’t need God. So they summoned the Almighty to a meeting.
“We don’t need you anymore,” the scientists explained to the Creator of the Universe. “You can leave us.” “Maybe work on another universe?” suggested one. God agreed, but only after a final proof–just to be sure the scientists were ready to run the universe on their own. They agreed.
On the day of reckoning, God stood ready with a bucket of dirt, set to re-create that original miracle. The scientists, with only an empty bucket, went to scoop up some dirt, when the Almighty stopped them. “Oh, no,” God said. “You can’t be using my dirt to create your life–go make some of your own.”
What are you doing with the dirt God gave you?
Stewardship: the church’s word for money, is really about much more than that. Stewardship encompasses everything that we do after we utter the words, “I believe.”
What are you doing with the stuff of your life? How do you spend your time, your abilities, your wealth? Are you working to make the world a better place? Are you donating to good causes? Building the Kingdom of God?
It’s easy to be offended by the questions of stewardship–after all, it’s my stuff–who are you to tell me what to do with it? But, of course, that is the point. We did not create ourselves. One day we will be held accountable for how we spent that life. Do your life’s priorities reflect the faith you proclaim? Stewardship is the answer to that question.