Practicing good stewardship is a key part of our faith

By Shannon Roh
For The Catholic Week
We learn at a young age that “practice makes perfect.”  Living our faith and being a good steward of our gifts is no different. Why else would we call ourselves “practicing Catholics?” 
We pray, go to Mass and practice our faith through the sacraments with the hope of eventually spending eternity in Heaven. Practicing good stewardship is a fundamental part of our faith as God clearly calls us to share the gifts He gave us.  
“As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10). 
Stewardship can be defined very simply as our call to share the 3 T’s (Time, Talent and Treasure) that were given to us by God.
The first T is giving God Time in prayer. How often do we use the excuse, “I don’t have time?” There are 24 hours in every day. Before we use this excuse, we should look at where we spend our time. We might be surprised if we reviewed our time log like we do our bank account. Would God consider our time well spent? God has no time constraints and we have an open invitation to spend time with Him in prayer.    
The second T is sharing our Talent. In St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, we are reminded that God blessed each of us with unique skills and talents to glorify the Lord. To be good stewards, we must recognize our gifts and understand it takes everyone working together to use our different gifts to be the hands and feet of Jesus here on earth. This could be volunteering for a parish ministry, singing in the choir or serving as a lector or an usher at Mass.
“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them: if prophecy, in proportion to the faith; if ministry, in ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching” (Romans 12:6-7).
The third T is sharing our Treasure. Giving time and talent does not excuse us from giving treasure. We are all called to give sacrificially according to our means.  Jesus makes this very clear in the Gospels with the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and the story of the poor widow’s contribution (Luke 21:3-4). Throughout the Gospels, Jesus challenges us to give as it has been given to us. 
Let’s practice our faith and stewardship as a way of life and share this call with others.
“Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me’” (Matthew 19:21).
­­— Shannon Roh is the Executive Director of the Office of Development and Stewardship for the Archdiocese of Mobile.