I recently acquired the daily devotional book entitled Take Five: On-the-job Meditations with St. Ignatius written by Mike Aquilina and Fr. Kris D. Stubna. In the “How to Use this Book” section, they invite the reader to jump around in finding meditations that are pertinent to today.

So today, relying on the Holy Spirit’s guidance, I randomly opened the booklet and came upon the meditation Cross Examination. It draws upon St. Ignatius’ Exercise #53 and poses this question:

How is it that He has stooped to become one of us, to pass from eternal life to death here in time, that He might die for our sins?

It goes on to instruct us to – behold Christ in His plight, nailed to the cross, and ponder:

• What have I done for Christ?
• What am I doing for Christ?
• What ought I to do for Christ?

That socked me in the face. Punched me in the gut. What am I doing? What can I do?

Stewardship is a call to change how we understand and live our lives. It is living as a disciple of Christ and generously sharing our resources for the good of others and the glory of God. At a minimum, it demands sharing a tithe, or ten percent of all we have and all we are.

Consider these Bible verses on the subject of tithing:

 Nos. 18: 29
From all the gifts that your receive, and from the best parts, you are to consecrate to the LORD your own full contribution.

Deut 14: 22
Each year you shall tithe all the produce that grows in the field you have sown.

Prov 3: 9
Honor the LORD with your wealth, with first fruits of all your produce.

I got to thinking, “How much is a tithe? How much is ten percent of everything?”
The financial part is easy to figure. Calculating ten percent of my income is as simple as moving the decimal point one place to the left.  This covers the Treasure part of stewardship.

But we hear of stewardship in the fuller context of Time, Talent and Treasure. Do I give ten percent of my Time and Talent? How do I figure that?

Again, Time is easy enough to calculate. I found these numbers both interesting and overwhelming. Consider:

• There are twelve months in the year. So, I am to tithe 1.2 months of the year to God.
• There are fifty-two weeks in the year. So, I am to tithe 5.2 weeks of the year to God.
• There are365 days in the year. So, I am to tithe 36.5 days of the year to God.
• There are 8760 hours in the year. So, I am to tithe 876 hours of the year to God.

How do I do that? Breaking these numbers down into more manageable bites still seems a little overwhelming – I am to tithe 2.5 hours per day; 18 hours per week; 3 days per month.

I struggle with trying to compartmentalize my life. The above calculations have me wondering how in the world am I going to take 2.5 hours of my day or 3 days every month away from family and work, and give that to God? It is too hard. I can’t do it.

St. Ignatius understood that. His solution was to bring Christ into the workday. He was able to see the supernatural dimension in his everyday tasks whether mundane or difficult. He embodied the teaching of Paul who urged in Corinthians that in everything we do, we are to do everything for the glory of God. Tithing then becomes more than ten percent. It is giving all of everything.

The meditation in Take Five asks, “When I do good things, do I tell Jesus I am doing them for Him?”

That’s how I can tithe my talent and time. I can incorporate Christ into my workday. I can change how I understand and live my life. This is what Stewardship is all about.

It’s great to go on vacation (thanks David and Kathy!). Over the past few years, in what is arguably the worst economic environment since the “great depression”, it’s been hard to find the time, much less the money to get away. That’s why it is good to get a break, an opportunity to unplug, step back, to reflect.

Away from the demands of the work day, out of the rote routine of tasks to be done, I appreciate the time to sit on the beach, to observe and to think as I look out over the ocean. I am reminded of just how good life is.

Grace in Abundance
The passage in 2 Corinthians 4: 15 sums it up well:

Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance…may cause thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.

I am indeed filled with overflowing thankfulness and gratefulness.

A colleague forwarded this message to me a while back. It is especially pertinent in light of decreased investment balances and reduced salaries. It provides great perspective as financial goals are re-evaluated.

How the Poor Live
One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On returning home, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”

“It was great, Dad.”

“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.

“Oh yeah,” said the son.

“So, tell me. What did you learn from the trip?” asked the father.

The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden, and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden, and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the edge of the yard while they have the whole horizon. Our house is on a small lot, and they have land that goes beyond where we can see. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food. They grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them.”

The boy’s father was speechless.

Then his son added, “Thanks, Dad for showing me how poor we are.”

Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for what we have, instead of worrying about what we don’t have. Let’s appeciate everything we do have – especially family and friends – and plan for the future from where we are now.

Thumper used to say at his mother’s admonishing, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Our mothers also admonished us with adages like, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

That is wise counsel when it comes to investing. There are some fundamental truths about investments. Tenets that stand the test of time – every time. They are:

• There is a trade off between risk and return. The higher the return, the greater the risk.
• Diversification is essential to mitigate risk.
• If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

Certificates of Deposit and Treasury Bills/Notes pay interest rates that are considered to be the risk-free rate of return. Therefore, any investment that provides a higher return must, by definition, have more risk.

A recent advertisement in the business section of the local newspaper promoted a “safe and stable CD alternative” paying a 4% interest rate. It is easy to believe that at that rate, the risk should not be so great as to give cause for concern.  But with current CD rates yielding 2% at best, flashing lights and ringing bells should warn of the need to read the fine print.

At the other end of the risk spectrum are penny stocks and private equity. It is easy to recognize the risks of illiquidity and volatility in these types of investments. They can sometimes generate outsized returns. However,  their values can also go to $ZERO. We won’t even talk about investment strategies that involve leverage.

Swing for the Fences
A baseball analogy applies here. Investing in penny stocks is like swinging for the fences, trying to hit home runs. Babe Ruth hit a lot of home runs, but he was also a leader in the category of strikeouts. It is tempting to try to be the hero and swing for the fences by investing in hot stock tips and exotic investment programs – especially if your portfolio is in need of recouping from deep declines.

But just as in baseball where a solid strategy of hitting singles and doubles proves to score winning runs, it is likely more profitable to follow a well diversified investment strategy using conservative asset allocation and broad diversification.

So, how does a good financial steward discern truth? John 8: 31-32 instructs us to, “continue in my word..and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Analyze investment offerings with common sense, remembering that if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. Seek help from professionals who strive to, “gain in learning…acquire skill, to understand a proverb and a fugure.” (Prov 1: 5-6) Find a trusted advisor who you believe will act in your best interest at all times.

Godspeed in your effort to be a good financial steward.