What is Christian Stewardship?

Christian Stewardship is a way of life in which we regard ourselves and our possessions as a trust from God to be used in His service, for what He has done for us in Jesus Christ.

This means that we are stewards of everything God has given us:

• our time
• our abilities
• our possessions
• our money
• our whole lives

To take this a little further, it is:

The response we are called to make to God for all He has given us and done for us above all in Jesus Christ.

In other words:

• We worship God with praise and thanksgiving
• We look on the universe as God's creation
• We treat the earth and its resources as God's provision for the needs of all mankind
• We regard our lives, our powers, and our possessions as gifts from God to be enjoyed and used in His service
• We seek to be stewards of the Gospel and to share in Christ's mission in the world

How does this work out?  It means giving time to God:

• In public and private prayer, acknowledging His claims on us
• Giving Him the opportunity to speak to us
• Giving Him the service (that is, the service to our neighbour) that has a proper place in our daily lives

It means making an honest assessment of our talents and the gifts God has given us and then putting them to work:

• For each Christian is a member of the Body of Christ and as such has a particular function to perform, just as the ear or hand in a human body.

It means regarding our money and our material possessions as a trust from God, to be used for his work in the world:

• Unless our money gift has cost us something, it is not really a thanksgiving but more like a tip.  And one of the tensions in our discipleship lies in whether we live our life and give to God the odd crumb, or whether we give to God first, and then manage the rest.  If the Christian disciple does the first, he will never be satisfied.  If he does the second, he will always have enough.

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