Stewardship :: Treasure

"With God the more we give the more we gain. When we give, from our substance, what appears to be taken away is replaced, never allowing the giver to suffer. Giving of our Treasure takes many forms. The most obvious form is our gift to charity, or institutions that perform charitable work. A thoughtful, prayerful, proportionate response is what we are called to do. In this instance, the gift is in the giving. So, it is our need to give, not the giving to a need, that is the essence of the Spirituality of the Stewardship of Treasure." The Stewardship of Treasure calls us to search out ways to help the less fortunate. In the parable of the widow’s mite, she gave all that she had to her community. The community in turn made sure that all of her needs were taken care of. There are two Stewardship lessons to be learned. The first lesson is "Faith". The faith of the widow was absolute. She knew instinctively that God would take care of all of her needs. So, by giving all that she had, her faith was rewarded, and all of her needs were fulfilled. The second and just as important lesson is "To give is to receive". When we give, we receive the grace of God. That grace informs the heart and mind of His will and the way to carry that out.

Using ones amassed Treasure for the benefit of others is the good steward’s way of reaching out to others. The welcoming of strangers into ones home, the visiting of the sick or infirm and making sure that their needs are taken care of, is another way that the Stewardship of Treasure is drawing us closer to God. Again, looking at the parable of the Good Samaritan, we must surely realize that he was also a Good Steward of the Treasure given to him.

The realization that all we have is a gift from God – is a lesson of the Holy Spirit. Amassed Treasure is only loaned to us while we are here - we can only take the love of our neighbor with us when we return to Him – there we will live in the fullness of His love.

Striving to be a Good Steward and a good Disciple is our response to the Stewardship of Time, Talent and Treasure.