Christmas Stewardship: two words you most likely have never seen put together. In fact, I don’t believe I have ever used them together in a sentence.
I talk a lot about stewarding our facilities and managing money well. But, stewardship is more than that.
Take a moment and think about all that God has blessed you with: a loving spouse, children, a roof over your head — the list is yours to make. Now, take another moment and think about how you are stewarding those blessings this holiday season.
With Christmas this week, we tend to scramble and make sure we have everything under control. But, amid the scramble, we tend to neglect resting in God’s goodness, which includes delighting in what he has entrusted to us.
There are several few ways we can practice “Christmas stewardship” this season, but here are a few I recommend:
Put Your Phone Down
Your email, text message, or aimless scrolling can wait. I even recommend ditching your phone for hours at a time. Turn it off and set it in a drawer far away from you. The people around you and the time spent practicing gratitude are far more important than whatever is on your phone.
Trade Presents for Presence
We shop more during Christmas time than we do the entire year. I am not saying there is anything wrong with giving physical gifts. But there are other ways you can show the people you love that they are valued: through quality time. This goes hand-in-hand with the point above. Be intentional with your time this season.
Focus On the Reason For the Season
Don’t let Christmas pass you by this year without pausing to remember why we celebrate in the first place. Through worship — whatever that looks like to you — we are stewarding the personal, unique relationship we have with our Creator.
We hope you have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We are praying your holiday is full of peace, joy, and gratitude.
This originally appeared in Smart Church Solutions.