Christian Steward: One who receives God’s gifts gratefully, cherishes and tends them in a responsible manner, shares them in justice and love with others, and returns them with increase to the Lord.

Each of these basic elements (gratitude, responsibility, generosity, and accountability) are essential to the exercise of good stewardship. But if you had to pinpoint just one of these as the most essential element, you would probably find that “gratitude” is the heart of true stewardship.

In spite of the fact that life is full of hardship and heartache, all of the great religious traditions of the world urge their members to cultivate a deep and abiding sense of gratitude. That’s because wise men and women have learned, oftentimes the hard way, that true freedom and genuine healing are not found by dwelling on our problems or on our pain. As the great spiritual writers have reminded us throughout the ages, healing and wholeness come only when our hearts are clean and when we can praise God and give thanks for the many gifts we receive even in times of great trial and adversity.

As children, we were all taught to say “thank you” when someone complimented us, gave us a gift, or did us a favor. We learned early on that saying “thank you” is good manners, and that it is a way of showing that we value what others do for us, or share with us – no matter how insignificant these small favors may seem. So, in addition to our expressions of gratitude for the “big things” in our life, it’s also customary for us to say “thank you” when a waiter refills a water glass, or when a stranger holds open the door, or when we receive a compliment from a friend. These little gifts of time and attention may not be very significant in and of themselves, but our response to them says a lot about how we see ourselves in relation to the world around us.

Somehow, generosity, accountability, and responsibility, which are the other essential elements of good stewardship, seem to flow naturally from a grateful heart. If we truly believe that God has blessed us, even in moments of pain and sorrow, we are much more likely to care for the things we have been given, to share them with others, and to return them with increase to the Lord.

True stewardship is taking care of sharing all that we have and all that we are – our time, talents, and our money. Why is it so important to share our money? Why can’t I simply say, “Well, I’ll serve on the Athletic Committee, and I’ll sing in the choir, but I won’t give the church any money?” Wouldn’t that be good enough?

The answer of course, is “no.” But the reason has nothing to do with the fact that my parish or any of a thousand other worthwhile organizations need money. They all need money and even the richest person in the country doesn’t have enough money to satisfy all of them.

It’s important for us to share our money for two reasons: first, because of all of the good things that God has made (including money) are meant to be shared, and second, because each of us has a need to give.

We need to give our money to the church (and worthwhile charitable organizations) because giving money is good for the soul – and because we need to return thanks to a loving God for all of the many blessings each of us has received.

And that leads us to the $64,000 question: how much money do I give? The answer (from a stewardship perspective) is “nothing.” We don’t have to give anything. Stewardship is not “minimum giving;” it is “maximum giving.” That means giving freely as much as we can, as often as we can, from the heart, as a “faith response” because we are good stewards of our time, talent, and money. Printed with permission of Daniel Conway, Author of “The Good Steward.”

Printed with permission of Daniel Conway, Author of “The Good Steward.”