Making stewardship a way of life

The brief visit of Mila G. Glodava and Sr. Frances Mangabat, SDS, and highlighted by an audience with Archbishop Valles, CBCP president, rekindled and reinforced my desire to make people understand our responsibility before God as stewards of all created things. I can’t help but look back to the book of Genesis 2:19-20 because it is there that God bequeathed to man the guardianship of His creation and assigned him the task of co-creator when he gave him the distinct honor of naming “every beast of the field and every bird of the air.” (In Scripture, when someone gives a name to a person, that someone has power over the person named).

And yet, have we really understood this and lived up to the task assigned to us as guardian of the earth and our duty as our “brother’s keeper?” Stewardship is not just about desiring to give for the sake of doing something good. Neither is it about just plain giving to fulfill a need; it is about giving because “I want to” and simply because it is the breath of God flowing out from the depth of my being.

Stewardship is about Time, Talent and Treasure. God has endowed each one of us with certain gifts or talents that are uniquely ours in order that we can fulfill the purpose for which each one of us was created. What talent do I possess that I can make time to share with others in order that I can help them grow spiritually, and/or, assist them find their own giftedness and use them for the betterment of their lives and those of others? If I have been blessed financially, what charity can I support to alleviate the sufferings of others? How can I be a channel of God’s grace and be a co-creator of his love, goodness, justice and mercy? How can I help build and strengthen the Church that Jesus established for this purpose?

During Lent, I read Tim Muldoon’s book: The Ignatian Workout for Lent. He made two statements in Exercise 9 that took me aback and seriously worked on it. He said:

“Imagine, if you can, what our use of money might look like if there were no sin.”

“The world is God’s house, and every misuse of money is a violation of God’s command to love my neighbor and myself.”

These statements spoke powerfully to me because I really have not thought of how money would be used if there were no sin. Our weakness has made us insecure and greedy to the point of even misusing nature to our own and the earth’s disadvantage. If there were no sin, this world will be like the Garden of Eden where all created things that exist are respected, and are handled and used responsibly. We all will be brothers and sisters attending to one another’s needs and frolicking in bliss before God. There will be mutual cooperation and respect for one another and we all will bask in the glory of our surroundings.

The world is God’s house indeed, and I am a tenant here. In 1 Timothy 6:7, St. Paul writes: “…for we have brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world…”. All that I possess belong to God and I am made a caretaker of it. Shall I live my life like a selfish landlord, or shall I be like his Son Jesus who possessed nothing of his own except for the undying love and obedience to his Father? Shall I make my blessings the god of my life, or shall I use them for the reason that I was chosen as guardian? Will I ever remember that when I leave this good earth, there really is nothing I can bring with me, not even my hair and my bones, but only my soul that will stand in judgment before God?

Time, Talent and Treasure are “manna” that are entrusted to me to help others — to feed the hungry and in some ways, assist those who aspire to improve their lot in life through education and other worthwhile means. Manna is entrusted to me so I can nurture this garden called earth where God has situated me. Manna is entrusted to me not just for the sake of doing something good but because in Genesis 2, God “…breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” And with that life within me, I possess not only his love for my neighbor but he also made me the steward of all the blessings I received and continue to receive from him.

I pray that I remain faithful to this awakening and calling. I pray earnestly with Fr. Henri Nouwen:

“Dear God,

I am so afraid to open my clenched fists! Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to? Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands? Please help me to gradually open my hands and to discover that I am not what I own, but what you want to give me.”

(Dolly Dalisay Banzon)