Successful stewardship

But what really is success? There are numerous books written that chronicle one or another person’s success and all of the hoops and hurdles that were endured for this goal. There are also numerous books that will tell us everything we need to know to become successful in whatever area or field that we desire. An Internet search yielded somewhere over 35 million hits regarding success! The dictionary defines success as a favorable or desired outcome, or the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence.

Success is an achievement that I believe can and should be evaluated both personally and collectively. Each one of us is responsible for determining whether we’ve achieved a favorable outcome, for we are the ones responsible for defining the desired outcome. We are often also part of a larger group that must collectively do the same.

Unfortunately, the standards we’ve allowed to creep into our society often focus only on wealth, favor, and eminence as the benchmarks of success, and those not achieving that definition are characterized as failures. What was deemed successful in the originator’s eye as a favorable outcome is graded as unsuccessful by society because wealth and prominence were not a part of the outcome.

In the same way, there is often an attempt to measure the concept of stewardship in terms of someone else’s views, or their goals, or their desired outcome. We tend to judge the actions, or inaction of others, as being either good or bad stewardship without regard to our own actions or the intent of the other person. Stewardship is really measured individually by the growth each one of us has in our spiritual relationship with God, and the success of that spiritual relationship can only be determined by each one of us in cooperation with our Lord.

I don’t find how-to and self-help publications, even those about stewardship, to be particularly helpful in building this spiritual relationship. I do, though, find the many anecdotal stories inspiring and helpful as I explore what stewardship really means in my life. There are no quotes, quips or life stories in the column today that will inspire you to awaken your imagination about stewardship. However, it is my hope that you will find your own ways to delve into how each of you might strengthen your relationship with God and become the Christian steward each of us is called to be.

The Stewardship Conference is fast approaching and will be held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe here in Dodge City on Saturday, August 27. I hope each of you can attend. I believe you will find some helpful hints about how to further your understanding of stewardship. Perhaps you will hear something from one of the speakers or from one of the participants that will really resonate with you and will be that bit of inspiration that will move you forward in your stewardship journey.

Whether you are able to attend the conference or not, now is a good time to take a few moments to reflect back on your journey of stewardship and to plan for the coming year. Perhaps you will find that your stewardship is right on target and your goal will be to maintain its course. Perhaps you will find that you’ve strayed a bit from the goal and it is time to redirect. Either way, it will be an opportunity to think about your desired outcome and how that can be achieved. I wish you success, whatever that may be.