Surveys

All of us have participated in surveys over the years. This is a way in which businesses, schools, communities, governments, and yes, even churches gather information on various topics. We may be asked about our views on a particular issue, about a customer service issue, about our likes and dislikes in food or beverage, about curriculum, taxation or any number of other issues.

The recent ban on telemarketing calls at home has been a real gift for most of us who were regularly hounded for our opinions or to buy something while we ate supper. We no longer have to either ignore the ringing phone or immediately hang up on someone trying to sell the latest product. However, I still get many sales calls and invitations to participate in surveys at the office. Just last week, I was invited to briefly share some information over the phone, then go to a web site to complete a 20 minute survey, and the company would then send me $75 for participating. They have now resorted to paying people to spend time while they gather information from you! I did not participate and asked that they not contact me again. Another time I was contacted three times within a month for my opinions on the level of satisfaction regarding phone service. After I answered the questions the first two times, a third call came in, and I politely told the person that the way in which they could improve the level of customer satisfaction was to not call so often and ask how they could make their customer happier.

Now I know some of you are thinking, Dan what does this have to do with stewardship? Perhaps he doesn’t have anything else to write about and is trying to fill space with this useless garble. The point, however, is that stewardship is like those products being surveyed. If and when we choose to participate in these surveys, we are asked about likes and dislikes, and often are asked to rank choices from favorite to least favorite, best to worst, etc. Our views are based on personal experiences and our knowledge of the product or service and it is important, whether we like it or not, that information be gathered to determine opinions, levels of interest or understanding for these various products, services, and issues.

It is the same way with stewardship. Without conducting a survey, we already know that everyone has opinions about stewardship. Our involvement in stewardship is based on good or bad experiences we have had while participating in activities in the parish, Catholic school, religious education or youth program, or volunteering. We have formed opinions about stewardship based on the level of knowledge that we have about our faith and how we interpret this knowledge. And like surveys about a product or service, our views will often change over time based on a new and sometimes unintended experience with stewardship. This change of attitude is sometimes as gentle as a wisp of air blowing gently or as forceful as the old 2 X 4 upside the head.

Today, I believe we all need to take time to do a personal survey regarding our role as Christian stewards. As we each continue to evaluate our own attitudes, our knowledge of our Catholic faith and our role as Christian stewards, I would invite each of us to be open to the work of the Holy Spirit to help us move forward in our journey with our Lord. Change is inevitable in all of our lives and each of us will move, sometimes forward and sometimes backward or sideways, but we will always be moving in this stewardship journey. I would invite each of us to discern seriously what gifts God has blessed us with and how we can grow in our understanding of how He is calling us to share these gifts with others. The needs of our faith community, our communities and our people are endless. So, too are our gifts, and we must find a way to make our gifts mesh with these needs.

In the final analysis, we may have only one more survey to complete. I can envision St. Peter standing at the Pearly Gates waiting for each of us to complete the survey on the stewardship of our lives. Will we be able to answer by saying, yes Lord, I did my best to steward those gifts you entrusted to me, or will we regret having squandered earlier opportunities? I know how I would like to answer that survey and hope I can continue to do my best as a Christian steward.