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Accountability and Stewardship
I think Jesus was pretty clear when He said, "You can't serve God and Money." The problem is, most people end up misunderstanding the phrase, "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." Most people combine the two, and form a general image that God doesn't really care about money at all, or how we manage the resources entrusted to us. To that, I would say you're missing the point. God cares about people, and how we are being good stewards of what we have. It's about being a responsible citizen. That is why Jesus says you can't serve two masters. Either your love for God (and consequently, your love of neighbor) will fuel your stewardship of money, or love of money will fuel your stewardship of love. Everything starts with stewardship.
There are definite moral and ethical implications of our economic failure, but it is one that must be shared by every citizen. We live in a democracy and a free market economy. This means that we all have a voice (which we exercise with our vote) and we all have opportunities in a country where people can earn a more than decent living. However, when greed runs rampant in our financial leadership, we all need to collectively raise our voice for change.
I think along with obviously addressing the issue of greater corporate accountability, another element that needs to be addressed is individual stewardship - the concept of managing and treating what you've been given with a sense of realism and appreciation. This would be the place where faith and finances meet. We need to first ask questions of why are we as a society spending so much money on stuff, and if it's all really enhancing our lives, or slowly disconnecting us from each other, never really satisfying the heart the way that the love of God can. You have to ask the question of want versus need, and to be willing to come to an honest assessment of the situation. Some of it is common sense, and some of the answers involve sacrifice. Everyone talks about our addiction to oil - what about our addiction to credit? Why is it so acceptable to pay for goods and services with something that is not real? And with that, comes the harder question, which is if you are a follower of a God who came to the Earth as a man (fully God but still fully man) who was mostly homeless, by the way, why are you so fixated on material pursuit of comfort instead of spiritual? Take the housing crisis as an example - sure, it's a complex issue that involves many factors and many groups or corporations could be blamed - and there does need to be large scale accountability - but there also needs to be individual responsible citizenship. Did all those young families that qualified for "monopoly money mortgages" stop and ask, "do we really need a new house?" Were they taught to stop and ask the right questions of, "can we really afford this?," or were they conditioned to buy buy buy?
Ascribing faith solely in the economy of man is continually being proven by history to be a failing proposition. Outside of a continued awareness and abiding in that which transcends human imperfection, we are embarking on a journey to a world defined by acquisition, power, fear, and accusation; rather than a world of love, service and peace.
By
Matt Maher
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September 18, 2008; 12:46 PM ET
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Posted by: Carrie H. | September 23, 2008 8:38 PM
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thanks God there is faith here in OnFaith.
Posted by: lvnlkn.eta | September 23, 2008 9:08 AM
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bu arada kimlerin borclandirildigi bir liste halinde tutuluyor olmasi lazim. siz de uc asagi bes yukari biliyorsunuzdur, mumkunse kapatir misiniz sayin Icisleri Bakani? Is Bankasi Genel Muduru biliyordur en azindan.
Posted by: lvnlkn.eta | September 23, 2008 9:07 AM
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Hurriyet GAzetesi uzerinde sikca gecerken, hem de Patlican ve diger hizmetlerin altyapisi bambaska bir "yapida" iken? Turk Telekom, Cem Yilmaz, Bogazici Universitesi, Cem Uzan, Selanik ve Uskup "yapilari" da baska iken?
nedir bunun sonu? St Luke Emmy Odullerindeki "brought to you by Maycy's" mi? ne zaman ogreneceksiniz sayin Icisleri Bakani, yoksa birakin kirik kalsin mi?
Posted by: lvnlkn.eta | September 23, 2008 8:52 AM
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Kurtulus Savasinda Hindistan'dan gelen 250.000 TL yardim parasi ile kurulmus IS Bankasi'nin beste bir hissesi oldugu, "sii" denilen yapida, ermeni tasarisini kabul etmis, Fenikeli, Israil karsiti, Suudi Arabistan ve Lubnan kokenli bir aileye ait AVEA hatti kullananlara ve yurt disindan gelenler karsilarinda anlasmali olarak AVEA bulanlara, ne sekilde muamele edildi?
Ataturk'un Heykelini diktirdigi HAnibal'in Romalilarla savasi MArmara'da geciyorken ve Ingilizlerin Hindistan'daki ailelere Kurtulus Savasi oncesi neler yaptiklari biliniyorken? ve Kuzey Irak'ta Amerika'ya karsi savasan Mesih Ordusu ve Iran da "sii" yapida iken? hem de tum memurlar ve askerler AVEA'ya gecirilmisken?
sayin Icisleri Bakani, nedir bu? ozellestirme mi?
Posted by: lvnlkn.eta | September 23, 2008 8:39 AM
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in the mean time, right after 2002 or around, i had posted to UNICEF Turkey, pictures i painted in water colours in post card size, the ones i had posted had been selected by a Hungarian Director of Animation movies in Bursa in Europe on Wheels Cinema Festival.
Kirikkale Universitesi Kurucu Rektoru UNESCO Kurul Uyesi Ankara Universitesi Mezunu Icisleri Bakanina duyurulur. kilonuzdan memnun musunuz, zor oluyor mu oturmasi kalkmasi?
Posted by: lvnlkn.eta | September 23, 2008 8:15 AM
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Mr MAtt MAher,
later i shall speak with poems and songs. yet, i am waiting for 18 months.
Posted by: lvnlkn.eta | September 23, 2008 5:57 AM
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Cecenleri destekleyenler ve bu ulkedeki Uygurlar aklima geldi. DevYol, Ankara Universitesili Doktorlarin kurdugu PKK ve Hizbullah'in kurucusu denilen Ergenekon orgutunun Komutani Eruygur ve hukuk karsisinda omuzlarini iceri cekmis bir baska komutan aklima geldi.
Diyarbakirli Uygur kardesler aklima geldi. dilbilimci Nermi Uygur ve NAsreddin aklima geldi. Ugurlanmis Sut Yogurt ve Arkeolog Iskoc Ustat BAird Spalding'in omuz verdigi Olumsuz Ustatlar da cabasi.
Erbilli Ihsan Dogramaci ve Google muadili tek gozlu Hattab-Abbot sitesi aklima geldi, Golbasi'ndaki Ahmet Necdet Sezer ve yaninda NAsreddin denilen kisi aklima geldi.
ne ise yariyor? Milkyway'e mi donduruyor insanlari? Samanyoluna mi? RAsathaneler savasi mi kizisiyor? ulke Zamanyoluna mi gidiyor? yagmur suyu ayristirildi mi? SAfranbolulu Selma'nin basindaki enerji civileri Birlesmis Milletler Tiyatro Elcisi eski kocasinin evlenmeden once yemek yedikleri sarap ictikleri geceki cipalamasi.
o kadar bariz ve acik ki hersey. sadece zarar verilmesin kimseye, istedigimiz bu. "oc almak" ile "anlatmak" karismasin.
Posted by: lvnlkn.eta | September 23, 2008 5:46 AM
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Mr "MAtthew MAtthias" Maher
in this "Wailing WAll" Wall Street subject in OnFAith this week, stewardship reminded me St Edward the Confessor in Roman CAtholic Church in place of St George.
President Williams Bush have had dinner with President of Ghana "Warrior King" Director of African Union from Roman Catholic Church, previous week.
Yunan Asigi Iran SAhi ve Ingiltere Kralicesinin sikayeti uzerine Bursa'da tutuklanan Aziz Nesin, Sivas MAdimak'taydi, kaldiklari otelde Bursa Iskender Kebapcisi acildi. MAvi Tren Bursa Orhaneli yakinlarinda devrildi. MAvi ile bilinen Ingiltere aklima geldi. Izmir Tepecik'te onuc bebek enfeksiyondan oldu. bagisiklik sistemi ve "oport-unity" aklima geldi.
Ahmet peygamberin biraktiklarinin Umeyye Ailesi tarafindan ne sekilde degerlendirildigi aklima geldi. Rusya Suriye'ye malzeme goturecekmis. Erbil'de Selahaddin Universitesinde Turkce bolumu acildi. Aklima Eyyubiler ve HAcli Seferleri geldi. PAkistan'da bir otelde bomba patladi MAcar Buyukelcisi de oldu, aklima Eyyubiler geldi. Misirli Ingiliz Churchill Isveclilerle Keltleri Anadolu'da karsi karsiya getirdi. Recep Tayyip Erdogan aklima geldi. Feodal Yahudi Idil HAzar kenti bulundu. kolelik sistemini kaldiran ve Anadolu'daki TApinak ve Rehine Uzerine DAyali PAra Sistemini Duzelten Williams Bush ve Israil Ekonomi TAkimi aklima geldi.
Kuzey Irak'a giren Amerika Ordusu Nizamiye ve Eyyubilerle karsilasti. Grek Centilmen Aziz Lukas ve evlere sifacilik kolelik aklima geldi. Kralice Bursa'ya geldi 14 MAyis'ta, Aziz MAtthias gunu.
cep telefonlari varken kim kime karsi savasiyor ki? ve bu ulkede kim neyini rehin birakiyor ki? Madimake failleri mavi alevle mi yoksa kizil alevle mi yakiliyor? Nurcular sesotesi mi rezil ediliyor? (madi : lousy, infested by lice, diyarbakir)
Posted by: lvnlkn.eta | September 23, 2008 5:15 AM
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Matt,
I didn't even realize the W.Post had a faith section, 'til I heard you on K-LOVE today. Let me first say, I think you were right on with your analysis (speaking as one individual,who sometimes has difficulty making "sacrifices" to the "wants". There is one very minor thing in your article, that I'd like to point out, we actually live in a "Republic" that was founded on democratic ideals & principles--we don't live in a democracy. Sorry--But I have a passion for U.S. History.