Micah 6:8

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you

But to do justly, To Love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? (NKJV)

This past Thanksgiving, I wrote about our role as stewards in connection with being thankful. Now that we're well into the new year, I want to return to that idea. With another spring upon us, it's easy to glory in God's creation, but I want to remind all of us not to view this glory with an impersonal eye. We are not just spectators in God's garden, we are stewards, and that position comes with responsibility.

As stewards, we are called to properly manage the lives and resources that God has blessed us with. We often mistake these blessings as entitlements, but we must always remember that the titles we have in life are loans. All the good things we have are from God, and they belong to Him. We must recognize the fact that He has simply entrusted us with managing these things here on Earth. Therefore, we should all strive to be stewards that carefully cultivate all that we have borrowed. 

Think of how you feel when you lend something important to a friend — your car or a piece of jewelry, or any precious object with deep personal worth — how do you expect them to take care of this borrowed object? Would it not offend you to see it returned damaged due to neglect, or worse, destroyed by your friend's selfish indifference? Now, imagine how much greater the trust and how much worse the potential offense in God's placing His entire creation in our hands. 

Though we don’t too often hear the word outside of the church anymore, we are indeed stewards of the earth, of our possessions, our children, our spouses, and our wealth. We are expected with all these dearly entrusted parts of our lives to act wisely and in the spirit of their true owner. And what is that true spirit? It is spelled out for us in Micah above: "He has shown you, O man, what is good." And that "good" is defined by justice, love, mercy and humility. We must strive to be our best selves not just in church but in every situation, in every location, because there is no part of God's creation where we are not held responsible, where we are not stewards. 

The first blooms of spring remind us that Easter is nearly upon us, that the mystery and wonder of resurrection will yet again play out. But with this wonder must come reflection on our own place in this annual renewal. Are we showing the charity and generosity of good stewards? Are we representing that sacrifice and commitment? Indeed, are we living up to our responsibility to leave God’s creation in better shape than we found it? Have we, like the faithful servants in the Parable of the Talents, done our best to leave God with an increase, with a greater prize, or are we like those bad friends who lose or damage a borrowed item because of our carelessness? 

One of the greatest ways to fulfill your stewardship is to volunteer your time and talents within your community. One simple way to do this is to support your church’s food pantry program or your local food bank. Simply gather a few cans of non-perishable goods from your cupboard and either drop them off at your church at the designated times or take them to the closest food bank donation center. Better yet, grab your colleagues or your friends and family and start your own food drive. Form teams and challenge one another to see who can generate the most goods or money. Would you believe that just one dollar can provide meals for five families? 

Stewardship is always welcome in our communities and homes. As Easter approaches, I encourage you to consider all of the ways that you can be a good steward of the things the Lord has entrusted to your care. 

Pittsburgh Followers:

Support the Pittsburgh community by making donations to the Mt Ararat Community Activity Center food and clothing bank.  Every second Saturday of the month, 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM, residents from the 15206 Zip Code and Mount Ararat Baptist Church Members can participate in our monthly shop-through and clothing bank. 

Also, check out the local food bank at: https://www.pittsburghfoodbank.org/. See how you can help by providing time, money, or goods.