"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
Dwight D. Eisenhower, US general and 34th president (1890-1969)
As I think back over my life, it is clear that my understanding of what Stewardship involves has changed along with my understanding of the message of Christianity.
My first experience with Stewardship (although not by that name) was when as a teenager in order to achieve a goal, every time we denied ourselves something, no matter how inexpensive, that same amount went into our special box. And we did it - saving up what was needed, 5 cents here and a quarter there.
As a Stewardship chairperson, in my 30s/40s, I saw Stewardship as everyone paying their share for the upkeep and programmes of the church with a realistic dollar figure in the budget line for envelope givings. Tithing was not even in the picture.
As the years passed and family responsibilities lessened, I began to realize that 10% of what I had was not too much to give back to God . . . and hence to his[sic] church in thanksgiving.
However over the past decade, my understanding has morphed again. Now I see my calling as a Christian is to ameliorate want, and suffering wherever it exists in the world, not to keep buildings open and pay salaries. And so now I look at my giving in a different light. I try to put my money to best possible use so that it is not, as quoted above, “a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” This means being pro-active about where each dollar goes, making sure that it reaches the most vulnerable and needy in our society both here and abroad.
Stewardship is no longer a % of what I have that is given to the church. It has become instead a sharing of all that I have with those who have less.
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