Repay

5 Jun

“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God.”  (Mt 12:17)

Today’s Gospel is rich with a reminder toward good stewardship.

After all, what more is stewardship than giving to God what belongs to God?

So many people, when they hear “stewardship”, think “Money”.  However, stewardship is more than money.  It is time, talent, and treasure.

Give to God what belongs to God:

Time.  God has given all of us a set number of days here on earth.  From the moment that He breathed us into existence until the moment that we return to Him, we are on His time, not on our own.  We often treat everything as if we own the time.  We schedule ourselves extensively and exhaustively.  Yet, in the final analysis, we cannot give ourselves any extra time.  The time that we spend here on earth comes completely from God.  Therefore, we need to give Him our time.   That may mean making sacrifices; however, God is the owner and keeper of time, not us.  Therefore, we should give of our time cheerfully.

Talent.  God has gifted each and every one of us with a wonderful array of talents.  He did not give us our talents for our own benefit.  He gave us our talents so that we could build up His Kingdom here on earth in preparation for the day when all of His children are called to His eternal Kingdom.  Therefore, we should use our talents for the Lord.  Yes, we may use our talents for our own benefit as well.  God gave them to us for that purpose, too.  However, we must give of our talent to help His sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters in the faith.

Treasure.  Yes, stewardship sometimes is about money.  Some of us have been privileged to accumulate a certain amount of treasure.  That treasure — as was with our time and talent — does not belong to us.  That treasure was entrusted to us by our God and He wants us to use that treasure for the benefit of others.

The amazing thing about stewardship — the giving of our time, talent, and treasure — is that, the moment we begin to give, we receive back significantly.

God never leaves us without.

God wants us, always, to benefit from His love and His bounty.

We benefit best when we are sharing with others.

FAITH ACTION:  When was the last time that you gave significantly from your time, talent, and treasure?  Pick one of those areas and give today.  It might be sharing your time with someone who needs you, even if you wanted to do something else.  It might mean helping someone who cannot accomplish what you can.  It might mean contributing to someone in need.  Don’t waste a second.  Give of your time, talent, or treasure willingly and cheerfully this day.