By Bill Collins
Diocesan Stewardship Commission

“And he told them a parable, saying, ‘The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully’; and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops.’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

This parable is sometimes known as “The Parable of the Rich Fool.” I may say to my adult children they are choosing foolishly, in order to caution and thus to shape their choices. I hope God is speaking to the rich person in this manner, but I also hear God’s rebuke, speaking to one who, while blessed with ‘ample goods’ (the NIV says an ‘abundant crop’), is a person foolish enough to believe in his efforts alone, to indulge his appetites and enthusiasms and take those “goods” for granted.

America’s commercial and secular cultures cocoon us in a material reality and dream of abundance.

We weave the dreams as threads – masked as “needs” – into a fabric – known as “wants” – which we perceive as abundance of life.

We act as if we believe our abundance is the outward and visible sign of a purse that does not grow old and where no thief may approach.

Instead, reconsider “abundance.” Consider yourself the steward of blessed gifts rather than their owner. Look at abundance as eight elemental resources, or seeds:

Financial: Having the money to purchase goods and services.

Emotional: Being able to choose and manage emotional responses, particularly in negative circumstances, without engaging in self-destructive behavior. This is an internal resource and shows itself through stamina, perseverance and choices.

Mental: Having the mental abilities and the acquired skills (reading, writing, computing) to cope with daily life.

Spiritual: Believing in God’s purpose and guidance.

Physical: Having physical health and mobility.

Support Systems: Having friends, family and backup resources available to call upon in times of need or trouble.

Relationships/Role Models: Having frequent access to adults who will nurture and care for you and your needs as a unique and valuable creation of God, and who do not themselves engage in self-destructive behaviors.

Knowledge of Hidden Rules: Knowing the unspoken “cues” and “habits” of a social group. These unspoken cues are passed along in day-to-day human relations.

So how can you plant and nurture your seeds of abundance? Who will receive the fruit of God’s abundance in your life?

You may act and answer through annual giving and planned giving, funding the daily operations financing the future growth of your parish and/or the diocese.

Annual giving and planned giving call us to plan now, and then act in faith, so our actions embodying our beliefs may bear fruit in the future.

These are cultivated behaviors, learned mostly through experience, but also by reading, conversation and guidance.

Financing your parish operations through your annual giving campaign and making a will are trusting, thankful, loving actions. They set your intentions for your financial abundance in accordance with your temporal and religious beliefs.

When you do this, you implicitly admit that you trust in God – not just in your prosperity alone. You admit that you are thankful for the abundance in your life, and that you hope for a godly use for that abundance in accordance with your beliefs.

Stewardship is doing all I can, with all I have, with all of my time – and planning for the future of God’s kingdom, not just your own.

For more information about stewardship in the Diocese of East Tennessee, contact Herb Berl, the diocesan stewardship officer, at stewardship@etdiocese.net or 865-966-2110.