For Whole Life Stewardship
Stewardship is often associated with money. In many Christian settings, when the subject is mentioned, our thoughts immediately turn to giving, budgeting, possessions, or the use of financial resources. Those things certainly belong within stewardship, but Scripture presents a much larger principle. Before we can consider how we steward money, time, health, relationships, abilities, or … Continue Reading
If stewardship involves the whole of life, then it helps to understand life as a whole before looking closely at its individual parts. We naturally speak of physical health, emotional health, finances, relationships, work, spiritual life, and other areas as though they exist independently. Dividing life into categories can be useful because it allows us … Continue Reading
The spiritual dimension of life cannot be separated cleanly from everything else we are and do. Our relationship with God shapes the way we understand ourselves, other people, our responsibilities, our choices, and the purpose of life itself. It affects how we respond to hardship, how we use what has been entrusted to us, how … Continue Reading
Emotions are part of the life God has given us. They can bring joy, warn us that something is wrong, help us recognize loss, move us toward compassion, reveal disappointment, and expose fears we may not otherwise notice. They are woven into relationships, decisions, memories, expectations, and the way we experience everyday life. Because emotions … Continue Reading
The mind is involved in nearly everything we do. We use it to learn, remember, reason, plan, interpret experience, solve problems, make decisions, and understand what is happening around us. Our thoughts influence our emotions and choices, while our physical condition, relationships, circumstances, and spiritual life can influence the way we think. Because the mind … Continue Reading
The body is the means through which we experience much of daily life. Through it we work, serve, rest, relate to others, and carry out ordinary responsibilities. Physical capacity affects what we are able to do, how much energy we have available, how well we concentrate, and how much strain we can carry at a … Continue Reading
Much of life is lived in relationship with other people. Family, marriage, friendship, work, church, neighborhood, and community all place us in contact with others whose lives intersect with our own. Some of those relationships are chosen, while others come to us through birth, responsibility, circumstance, or shared commitments. Some are close and enduring, while … Continue Reading
Money affects daily life in practical ways. It influences where we live, what we can purchase, how we meet obligations, what opportunities are available to us, and how prepared we are for unexpected needs. It can ease certain pressures when it is handled wisely, and it can create strain when it is mishandled, insufficient, unpredictable, … Continue Reading
The lives we have been given are personal, but they are not lived entirely alone. We live among other people. We have neighbors, participate in congregations, live in towns and neighborhoods, use shared spaces and services, and benefit from the work and contributions of people we may never know personally. Even those who live fairly … Continue Reading
The previous chapter considered the communities of which we are a part and the ways our presence, abilities, resources, and care can contribute to the lives of others. That naturally raises another question. What are we actually here to do with what has been placed in our hands? For some people, that question immediately brings … Continue Reading