In an earlier post, I go into quite a bit of detail on the definition of “Stewardship.” Most directly, I feel the part that applies to us Christians during this holiday season of need and charity is that stewardship is the “responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving” (Dictionary.com, 2015). I believe that our faith is such a thing. In the same way that we think about caring for other people at the holidays—making sure the homeless are clothed and fed or our own loved ones know that we care for them on a daily basis—we need to think about and attend to our faith.
During the holidays, it is easy to look back and take stock of what we feel are blessings and what we feel are challenges that were overcome with our faith or the strength of those around us. After all, this is the time of year we often reflect. This is when we deliberately take stock of where we need to improve in the coming year and what we did in the past year that worked. We thank God for His blessings, and we ask Him for help with new challenges.
In our busy lives, it is difficult to set aside time to spend on these reflections of faith and calmly re-evaluate our ways of handling stress or in praying for ourselves and others. It is even more difficult to acknowledge that, aside from weekly church attendance and attention to our loved ones in life, we might need to focus more deeply in our faith and in our trust and relationships with God. Many times, we think we know the answers when it comes to how we should handle certain situations or how we look at ourselves, when in fact, we should acknowledge God and His plan for us more often. Should we change certain pathways in life or improve on certain situations? Can we honestly ask God how to approach all of that when we think we know best all the time?
By giving in to our faith and trusting that our relationship with God is the only one equipped to help us get through life’s challenges and adequately give thanks for His assistance in all that is good, we let go of our ego and our own bad habits to listen solely to God and to His Divine Inspiration. In this way, we are stewards of our own faith and can hope to eventually be there in faith for others. We forget about putting ourselves first, and we understand our commitments to others and to God.
In light of recent ongoing events in the world that sometimes leave us speechless and feeling helpless and angry, remember that our stewardship of our faith and to others helps in ways that we can't always fully understand until we see the aftermath when people are banding together and thankful for the help they do receive. It is imperative that we maintain our sense of service to others and our stewardship of the Christian way of life with prayer and good will to others in all cultures and countries. This is our contribution to making the world a better place.
