Stewardship: Grace & Receiving
The first response a steward is called to take in response to God's gifts is to receive them gratefully, which requires acknowledging the gifts and their source. In a capitalist culture there is a strong tendency to consider everything in our possession to be things we own individually (rather than collectively) and have earned. However, our faith teaches that all we have belongs to God, but has been entrusted to us as gift. Gifts are not earned, nor are they deserved.
God's love is gratuitous. It comes before we have any possibility of deserving or earning it. God gives freely not because we are worthy (we aren't) or have earned the gift as a reward, but because God loves us. We can find this grace in God's forgiveness, the many gifts in our lives, and our lives themselves.
In a culture that is so concerned with fairness, achievement, personal rights, and "justice," it is sometimes difficult to accept values presented in scripture based on the divine economy of grace. God rains down manna from the sky, and Jubilee directives mandate canceling debts and providing food to the poor. Jesus poses parables that just seem unfair. He speaks of a master who pays his day laborers the same, no matter how long they worked (Matt. 20:1-16). He presents the story of a father throwing a huge party for his son who squandered his wealth, while his obedient son resents it (Lk. 15:11-32). He shares parables of masters who forgive debts for no good reason (Mt. 18:21-35, Lk. 7:41-50) and an "unjust steward" who forgives debts owed to his master, to his master's subsequent praise (Lk. 16:1-8). God is not "fair" when seen through our judicial and capitalist lenses.
Not understanding and accepting God's grace in our lives can result in a number of obstacles to living a gospel-based life. "Prosperity theology," a perspective popularized in Protestant Pentecostal churches and gaining influence elsewhere, teaches that God wants his believers to be wealthy. Churches promoting these beliefs—such as Houston's Lakewood, featured in a recent Time Magazine cover story on the subject—suggest that grace comes as a result of our beliefs, church membership, or church giving. It can fuel greed and an idolatry of money, as well as a comfortable righteousness that one deserves to keep any money and possessions that one acquires (ignoring the needs of the poor). Surveys conducted by Barna Research Group found that three-quarters of respondents (both those who do and don't regularly attend church) believe the Bible contains a specific passage that "God helps those who help themselves."
Others may struggle with the extent of inequity in the world—in material wealth, freedom, health, and other areas—and come to a more subtle, but similar conclusion. The recognition of these disparities can paralyze us as we try to come to terms with why we are the fortunate ones. A common reaction is to convince one's self that we earned what we have (through studying, working, and/or praying hard). When we hear God's challenge for how to respond to our wealth in the midst of disparity, whatever that response may be, we may be inclined to walk away sad like the Rich Young Man (Mt. 19:16-23).
For those who take the challenge of loving God and neighbor seriously, there can be a tendency to minimize what is truly best for oneself. Some may burn themselves out by giving to an unhealthy extent in order to somehow earn what they have been given. Our service and giving should be motivated by the grace and gift we have received from God, not in an attempt to become worthy of them (which we can never do). The serious disciple can be susceptible to the trap of trying to "get it all right," which can either lead to a "paralysis by analysis" or an egotistical pursuit of perfection and worthiness.
Some have difficulty accepting God's grace. The strong ascetic voices in our tradition have sometimes drowned out those in scripture that remind us that we were meant to enjoy creation. The gospel message is Good News to everyone, not only the poor. God loves us, wants us to receive that love, and desires for us to become the fullest human beings we were born to be. Jesus tells us he came so that we "might have life and have it more abundantly" (Jn. 10:10). The conflict between enjoying gifts and guilt from considering those still in need is played out in Jesus' anointing with perfumed oil at Bethany (Mt. 26:6-13). Scripture affirms that God has a spirit of abundance and expects creation to be enjoyed, and Jesus continues that tradition by attending parties and table fellowship. That tradition has thankfully continued, as Hilaire Belloc professed:
God's love is gratuitous. It comes before we have any possibility of deserving or earning it. God gives freely not because we are worthy (we aren't) or have earned the gift as a reward, but because God loves us. We can find this grace in God's forgiveness, the many gifts in our lives, and our lives themselves.
In a culture that is so concerned with fairness, achievement, personal rights, and "justice," it is sometimes difficult to accept values presented in scripture based on the divine economy of grace. God rains down manna from the sky, and Jubilee directives mandate canceling debts and providing food to the poor. Jesus poses parables that just seem unfair. He speaks of a master who pays his day laborers the same, no matter how long they worked (Matt. 20:1-16). He presents the story of a father throwing a huge party for his son who squandered his wealth, while his obedient son resents it (Lk. 15:11-32). He shares parables of masters who forgive debts for no good reason (Mt. 18:21-35, Lk. 7:41-50) and an "unjust steward" who forgives debts owed to his master, to his master's subsequent praise (Lk. 16:1-8). God is not "fair" when seen through our judicial and capitalist lenses.
Not understanding and accepting God's grace in our lives can result in a number of obstacles to living a gospel-based life. "Prosperity theology," a perspective popularized in Protestant Pentecostal churches and gaining influence elsewhere, teaches that God wants his believers to be wealthy. Churches promoting these beliefs—such as Houston's Lakewood, featured in a recent Time Magazine cover story on the subject—suggest that grace comes as a result of our beliefs, church membership, or church giving. It can fuel greed and an idolatry of money, as well as a comfortable righteousness that one deserves to keep any money and possessions that one acquires (ignoring the needs of the poor). Surveys conducted by Barna Research Group found that three-quarters of respondents (both those who do and don't regularly attend church) believe the Bible contains a specific passage that "God helps those who help themselves."
Others may struggle with the extent of inequity in the world—in material wealth, freedom, health, and other areas—and come to a more subtle, but similar conclusion. The recognition of these disparities can paralyze us as we try to come to terms with why we are the fortunate ones. A common reaction is to convince one's self that we earned what we have (through studying, working, and/or praying hard). When we hear God's challenge for how to respond to our wealth in the midst of disparity, whatever that response may be, we may be inclined to walk away sad like the Rich Young Man (Mt. 19:16-23).
For those who take the challenge of loving God and neighbor seriously, there can be a tendency to minimize what is truly best for oneself. Some may burn themselves out by giving to an unhealthy extent in order to somehow earn what they have been given. Our service and giving should be motivated by the grace and gift we have received from God, not in an attempt to become worthy of them (which we can never do). The serious disciple can be susceptible to the trap of trying to "get it all right," which can either lead to a "paralysis by analysis" or an egotistical pursuit of perfection and worthiness.
Some have difficulty accepting God's grace. The strong ascetic voices in our tradition have sometimes drowned out those in scripture that remind us that we were meant to enjoy creation. The gospel message is Good News to everyone, not only the poor. God loves us, wants us to receive that love, and desires for us to become the fullest human beings we were born to be. Jesus tells us he came so that we "might have life and have it more abundantly" (Jn. 10:10). The conflict between enjoying gifts and guilt from considering those still in need is played out in Jesus' anointing with perfumed oil at Bethany (Mt. 26:6-13). Scripture affirms that God has a spirit of abundance and expects creation to be enjoyed, and Jesus continues that tradition by attending parties and table fellowship. That tradition has thankfully continued, as Hilaire Belloc professed:
Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine,
There's always laughter and good red wine.
At least I've always found it so.
Benedicamus Domino!
Our challenge is to discern how God wants us to enjoy our gifts and share them so others might enjoy them. Loving ourselves means living balanced lives in which we receive as well as give.
[I]nstead of experiencing their sinfulness through arrogance of power, calloused indifference to the suffering of their neighbors or excessive dominion over the weak and powerless, a number of feminist authors and liberation theologians argue that most women and oppressed minorities around the planet have been socialized to love and attend to themselves too little. [Connors and McCormick, Character, Choices & Community, 222-223]