Stewardship
A Stewardship Message:1 Corinthians 10:14 – 11:1. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor … The earth is the lord’s and everything in it.
My husband and I moved many times over the years. Each time we found a church, it seemed the new one started a major fund drive as soon as we arrived. It happened so often that we joked about it, but then we began to notice something happening to ourselves as well.
Starting with the amount of our pledge to our former church, we found ourselves raising the income percentage as we saw the needs of our new parish. Our surprise was that, as we gave a larger portion of our income, we still had as much money as we needed – even with more children, new houses to buy, and so on. When we reached ten percent, which had once seemed huge, it took very little from our lifestyle. Mysterious.
Finally we realized the truth of common sayings: “Give until it feels good” and “Everything belongs to God.” Somehow the adjustments to our lifestyle that were required from time to time didn’t make much difference in our enjoyment of life. Neither did it affect the love of family and friends.
Like countless others, we learned that nothing, after all, is really ours. It’s God’s all along, and he is simply letting us use what we need while we are on earth. In the end, as saints and sages have known through the ages, it’s not acquiring that gives us happiness, it’s sharing.
from Forward Day by Day,
a publication from Forward Movement
At All Saints, we commit our time, talent and treasure. If you would like to join us with your commitment, you can download a commitment form here. Please mail to the parish office, give to an usher on Sunday, or drop it in the offering plate.