Stewardship Reflection – July 25, 2021

July 25, 2021 — Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

2 KGS 4:42-44; PS 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18; EPH 4:1-6; JN 6:1-15

The servant and the little boy in our readings today are excellent examples for us as Christian stewards. The servant gave the very best of what he had, and the boy gave all that he had, then God did the rest.

A key component of living as a good steward is constantly evaluating our lives, particularly our relationship with God to ensure we are not just scraping by but rather giving God our entire lives.

We should ask ourselves — "how am I giving God my time, using my talents, and sharing my treasures?"

We are called to give God adequate time each day. If we don’t plan for this time, likely, He won’t get any. We need to find what works best for us so that God can become a more significant part of our daily lives. We are also called to put our gifts and talents to good use too. The servant and the boy teach us that it is not up to us to decide how our gifts will affect others. God will do that. All we need to do is to give it well.

Lastly, the servant reminds us that we are called to give the first fruits of our treasures. It is easy to give something; it is difficult to give the finest gift. Giving our best requires us to reevaluate our priorities in life.

When we strive to live out our call as Christian stewards by entrusting all that we have been given to the One who graciously gave us these gifts, we will be blessed beyond measure. As we begin a new week, let us spend some time evaluating our relationship with God by asking, ‘what is my very best, and am I giving it to God?’

— Stewardship Reflections by Catholic Stewardship Consultants