Stewardship

From the beginning, humans were called to be stewards – caretakers of all that God had made. This includes the environment, yes, but also...yourself. You are part of God’s creation, with bodies, minds and spirits that need care. 

Musician Christa Wells says: “What is trendy isn’t necessarily wrong. This current wave of [self-care] talk can go different ways and like anything, can be couched in untruth. But I will fight anyone who says it doesn’t matter at all, that all you need is to believe God loves you, period.

Believing in God’s love must lead to unconditional love for all, including you and me. And there are lots of damaging beliefs lurking in our psyches, often anonymously. It may take some digging into your psychological/emotional roots to get from Point A to Point B.

Please, let’s not pretend it’s as simple as quoting a Bible verse, this whole Being Alive thing. Real freedom takes real people doing real work at breaking real shackles.”

So much of Christian doctrine consists of truths "held in tension" - that Christ is God & human, that there is one God in 3 persons, the role/balance of faith & works. If we've grown up with it, we often are mostly comfortable with those items.

"I do credit God for that healing, but I also know I had to get up and feed myself" shouldn't be new and it shouldn't be challenging...because it fits the same model of truths "held in tension." Do you trust God to sustain you? Yes. Do you still physically buy, cook and eat food (among other essential behaviors)? Yes.

Is that distrust? No. It's doing the work God Himself has given you to do. Taking care of world, family & self is the first job in the Garden: stewardship of things entrusted to your...care.

If you need to reconcile this further, then I invite you to consider your self-care as "care for God's creature known as _____"...and, fill in the blank with your own name. 

James Gomez, Pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Sturgeon Bay