But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9
Stewardship “asks us to do something far more difficult [than solely making financial gifts], and that is to share ourselves. To share our time, our abilities, our ministry, our relationships. Stewardship is really a call to be a holy people.”
Daniel Conway in What Do I Own and What Owns Me? A Spirituality of Stewardship (New London: Twenty-Third Publications, 2005) 18, as quoted by Betsy Schwarzentraub in Giving: Growing Joyful Stewardship in Your Congregation, volume 20 (Richmond: EMS, 2018) 35.
Every Tuesday morning for 18 years I’ve gone to Bible study at the Pinehurst Country Club. Each week about 10 men gather to “share ourselves” with each other. We read 1 to 3 chapters from God’s word each week. We’ve read through the Bible more than once in my time there.
What connection does this have to generosity? To be holy is simply to be “set apart for God” and related to stewardship, it means we set apart all we are and all we have for God’s purposes. Because God’s economy is abundant, we end up edified rather than empty when we share everything.
It takes time to grow into our identity as people of God. We learn from the Word and from each other over time. Becoming people of the light does not happen over night. The same is true with our journey of generosity. We don’t figure it out until we live it out in community.
God make us holy people, set apart for you and whose sharing shows your love to the world. Amen.