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Challenge of Good Stewardship Whenever environmental issues come up within the church, we often discuss them in terms of stewardship: How can we be “good stewards” of the natural resources God has given us? The same question also emerges whenever we talk about money: How can we be “good stewards” of the blessings God has provided? These questions are not as straightforward as they may seem. We jokingly say we are being “good stewards” when we use the back of envelopes for scrap paper and refuse to throw away worn-out clothes, but this notion of stewardship is incomplete. The good steward does not hoard resources for the sake of preserving and storing them away. The good steward preserves resources to enable generosity and create abundance. If you want to consider what happens to those who merely hoard what they have been given, look at the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14 – 30). Here Jesus shows us that gifts are useless when we squirrel them away. In contrast to the worthless servant who buries the master’s talent (money), the good servants take the talents they are given, trade them, and make more. And—perhaps most importantly—they give them back. The same is true of our natural resources. Yes, it’s important to preserve what God has provided, but the point is to enable and create abundance for the future—so that our children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy God’s gifts as we have. And the same is true of our money. With the Columbia Annual Fund, the seminary lives out this principle every day. We receive gifts from alumni/ae and others who are committed to As you consider the opportunities you have to be a good steward of God’s blessings, please consider a gift to the Columbia Annual Fund.
Jami Moss Wise Director of Annual Giving When you make a gift to the Columbia Annual Fund, you can also be a good steward of natural resources! Save paper and postage by making your gift online.
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