Reflections on stewardship
by Rick Lohr
Stewardship is an honored part of most church missions. It is, however, a general term with a philosophy of its own. Some philosophers talk about each individual singularly responsible for their own development. A stewardship philosophy, however, describes the individual as part of a greater whole. Each individual is connected to others in their community. It doesn’t mean that one’s identity is submerged in some collective group. As in all things philosophical, moderation and balance are important. In today’s media world moderate, rational, and community perspectives are not exciting. If one emphasizes community, extremist media weaponizes it as collectivization. A philosophy of stewardship strikes a balance between individualism and community values.
No one exists alone and on their own. We are born into a family, a society, a culture, and historical milieu. We are nurtured, modeled and educated by others. We are not self-created beings. Within the social environment we are raised in, we mix in our individual abilities, intellect, and emotional makeup. That mixture makes us both an individual as well as a social creature. As we forge forward through the time of our life we are constantly challenged to find a balance between our individual and social expression.
Stewardship helps us balance our individual and social identity. We can find meaning in helping others in our society without giving up our individualism. It is not an either or situation.
We can have an economic system that benefits both. Capitalism in many countries has been regulated to manage the worst abuses of inequities of wealth, while still maintaining healthy rewards for innovators and risk takers. The religious aspect of stewardship means that our balance should include the welfare of those our society has left behind because of racial, ethnic, gender, or poverty issues.
Stewardship means respect for others, respect for the continuity of society, respect for a legal framework of society, respect for the environment we share, respect for truth and rational thought, and respect for ourselves. It is not individualism or collectivism, it is finding a balance that can produce a fair and progressing society with opportunities and rewards for all individuals. That means stewardship, in the large philosophical sense of the term, is the responsibility of all of us.
Stewardship is a cooperative effort. It is taking responsibility for our actions and their impact on others. It tests our assumptions of who is truly human. If we are narcissists, or narrowly tribal, then the stewardship impulse will be restricted. If we see all human beings having value as created beings, then stewardship becomes an important human value. Stewardship is the spiritual value taught by all of the founders of the of the world’s great religions.
While it is a natural impulse to look out for one’s self, we are in the whole, our brother’s keeper. The morality of life is to find balance and harmony between developing and expanding our personal potential, with a fulfilling role as a contributing member of the larger community of mankind. We are, after all, one life in a chain that extends backward in time for many generations, and the stewards of the social and environmental keys for our descendants. We are here as temporary stewards responsible for the world we inherited.
