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February 17, 2020Editor’s note: Cherry Halford is a sophomore at Cristo Rey OKC Catholic High School and an intern for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.
What is stewardship? Ask this to anyone under age 15 and they may give you a blank stare.
Being a steward is not just giving money or leading or doing the one thing you are good at. You cannot always be the leader, sometimes you must give your time as a servant. You may be doing something trivial, but giving time is one of the best ways you can be a steward. Saint Therese the Little Flower wrote, "Our Lord does not so much look at the greatness of our actions, or even at their difficulty, as at the love with which we do them." Giving time in service is one of the greatest gifts of stewardship we can give to God, if we do it with great love.
“As each of us has received a gift use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace,” (Peter 4:10). Stewardship, like service, is different for everyone. Talents are a gift from God, so we should use them for his glory. There is nobody like you. No one has the exact same God-given talents, so no one in this world can serve God with your talents in the same way.
Here is what could either be the easiest or hardest part of the entire stewardship process, giving treasure. Monetary gifts are the first thing most people think of when giving to the Church. The best way I could describe this is from a story from the Gospel of Mark. Jesus and his disciples were by the treasury, watching the people put their money in, when they saw a poor widow put in two small copper pieces. Jesus told his disciples that the widow gave more than all the rich people who were putting in huge amounts of money. He explained that it was so because she gave all that she had. We are not all called to give all our money to the Church or to charity, but we are called to use our money in a responsible way.
Stewardship is a reaction to God’s gifts. It is caring for his world and his Church with time, talent and treasure.
