Most people would agree that caring for our lives is the number one responsibility that we have as human beings. For all but a very few of us, self-preservation comes as naturally as breathing. Okay, I don't hear any loud protests about the statements that I have just made, so I will assume it's safe to proceed. Are you ready for what comes next?
Since we agree that taking care of our lives is our number one responsibility and that we are naturally inclined towards this, then we can agree that we are all stewards of our lives -- our own lives, that is. Good, I'm glad you agree. But, here's something else to consider -- we live in communities or varying kinds and sizes. We live in bodies, in families, congregations, villages, cities and towns, nations, states and countries. Let's take it as far as we can. We live on the earth, in the world in a galaxy, in the universe! We are connected, whether we realize it or not to something much, much bigger than we experience in our immediate environment.
And our individual lives are dependent on the interconnection between all these entities. We are nourished by these entities in many different ways; and this is what gives us life.
Jesus of Nazareth once said to his followers "I came that you may have life and may have it more abundantly". Now there's something else that the majority of us can agree on -- living abundantly.
But to enjoy life abundant we must acknowledge our connection to the aforementioned entities and do our part to take care of them.
So starting with our bodies, families and faith communities, we must intentionally take actions to take care of our lives. And recognizing that we are connected to these other vast entities, we consciously make decisions to do our part in taking care of those entities as well! Because, like it or not, we are connected to a vast and infinite existence. We are connected to the one we call God, of whom St. Paul said is that power in which "we live and move and have our being." It is the same God whom the writers of Genesis indicated, gave to humanity the whole created earth to "dress and keep it" and to "be fruitful and multiply and replenish" it. I looked up "dress" in the dictionary, and it said that to dress means, “put on clothing , "decorate or adorn,", "apply therapeutic materials", "cultivate", "to clean", "to do up", "to put a finish on". In other words, it means to take care of. We are stewards of our lives, our environment, of the whole universe; and as Christians, stewards of God's kingdom.
So, stewardship is not just about money. It much, much more than money. It's about our very lives. And every decision we make, about everything in our lives, speaks to our stewardship, on how we take care of the gifts that the Creator God has so graciously given to us.
So, how are you taking care of your life, your body, your family, neighborhood, state, nation, world? Take Care, now!