Welcome to The Word of God Speaks, a ministry of the ICCEC Diocese of Europe under Bishop Elmer Belmonte. We come together in these times to hear what God is saying to His people.
You may have noticed the title for today’s message is somewhat unusual: Stewardship of your mc2. It all looks quite normal until you read the last word. But there is method behind this madness.
Stewardship is defined as the wise use and care of matters – physical or otherwise – that have been entrusted into our care by someone else. Jesus emphasized the importance of our being good stewards of all the Father has given us, both directly and in parables. For more than a year this series has been looking at various aspects of stewardship, both in terms of what we should be stewarding, and the goal or purpose of our stewardship.
As Fr. Roberto mentioned last time, we most often consider our stewardship in terms of the three “T’s”: time, talent, and treasure. I would like to suggest there is a fourth category which is tightly bound to these three, simply because of our human condition.
Before we begin, let us pray.
Holy Spirit, we ask Your guidance as we continue to explore the depths of Your Word and the love of the Father for us. Open the eyes of our understanding that we may fully embrace Your will for us, that we may walk in the newness of life provided through the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.
In His Name we pray. Amen.
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
This fourth category is represented by mc2. Now if you’re wondering as to what mc2 is, that’s not surprising. We almost never see this combination of letters and number on its own; something is missing. But if I had written E= mc2 then many of you would begin to understand where this is going.
If you search the web for E= mc2 you’ll see it is an equation. It’s always associated with Albert Einstein, who formulated it in 1905 as part of his special theory of relativity. But for our discussion, the most important part of the equation is the part I left out, the “E”. That E stands for energy.
In the same way, we too often leave the “E” out of our calculations when planning the stewardship of our time, talent, and treasure. I know, because I’ve been just as guilty as anyone else. However, as I grow older (and hopefully wiser) it becomes ever more apparent that the successful carrying out of my “best laid plans” depends greatly upon my energy level; not just my energy while accomplishing them, but also the energy I have available while listening to the Holy Spirit as He guides my planning.
Let’s review the three T’s with E in mind:
Time: When do you take time to spend alone with the Lord – your prayer time, your quiet time, your devotions, the daily office? I don’t mean what time of day – morning, noon, or night – but what part of your daily energy cycle? Human beings are like mobile phones: normal use drains us and we need a period of recharging.
In your time with the Lord are you at five bars, or two? Are you fresh and alert? Or have you pressed through your priorities until everything else was taken care, then given God what’s left? Do you even have a regular time at all?
Talent: What gifts or talents do you give your best energy to developing, to getting better – those that will advance your employment? Ones that will win you friends or increase your influence? Or the ones the Lord has given you for ministering to the lost and building up His people, the Church?
Treasure: Beyond your tithe, do you actively seek the Holy Spirit’s direction about individually and directly giving to those He leads you to, or do you only donate to the ministries of others and consider that sufficient?
I’m not judging. I don’t know your situation. Life sometimes makes demands of us that we can’t avoid. Some people work multiple 18-hour days in a row; some have a totally irregular schedule. Some are responsible for family members and others with special and unusual needs. Some God has assigned specific roles which demand continuously growing skills. And all of us, at some time or another, will have gone through a season that seems barren or dry, and that drains us to the last drop.
What I am asking you to do is just take a moment to perform an “energy analysis” of your life … or, as the Lord spoke to the prophet in Haggai chapter 1 verse 5 and following, “Consider your ways!” Are you being a good steward of the energy God has given you, or are there areas in your life where He is asking you to prune back your energy consumption so He can use it for purposes with eternal consequences?
These are not trivial questions. God supplies us with everything we need for life and godliness, then makes us stewards of that supply. What He asks in return is for us to offer Him from our best, not our leftovers.
Word of God speak!
Let us pray.
Thank You, Father for the great bounty you have placed in our hands. Thank you for giving us responsibility in small things, and for training us to handle larger things.
Holy Spirit, Giver of Life, You are in us, You walk beside us; You sustain us and You never leave us. Help us to give You our best in every area of life, including the best of our energy. Receive our offering and multiply it to provide a harvest for the Father’s glory.
All this we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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