Tag: stewardship

  • Transformation = Hope

    06.01.11 | Comment?

    by Greg Olsen

    Before the first Spilling Hope campaign two years ago, I’d led various classes on stewardship and figured I understood what it meant to manage what God gives us. Sure, it’s helpful to study what the Bible says about managing our time, talents, and finances, but what I didn’t realize was that only applying head knowledge to these things was the same as merely practicing a religion – pretty dry, and of little meaning or fulfillment. The Lord used Spilling Hope in conjunction with other events in my life to reveal the gap between my head and my heart, and how relationship with Him translates into meaningful relationships with others, and transformed hearts and lives.

    A main theme in Genesis 12 is that we are “blessed to be a blessing,” able to give back out of our abundance. The message of Spilling Hope underscores that. It’s given stewardship new meaning for me since it’s no longer just about learning facts and figures. It’s been a key conduit to actual names and faces of real people who have desperate need for things I have in abundance and take for granted each day. That aspect prompted me to actually care, and through that the Lord gained access to my walled-in heart and began a transformational work that is still in process today. Getting involved with Spilling Hope was an important way in which the Lord would reveal more of what He was up to in me.

    Through the film night, various pictures, and clean/dirty water displays at drinking fountains and bathroom sinks, I began to realize just how vastly different we have things here in the Pacific Northwest with our abundance of resources. I awoke to a new appreciation for them and was inspired to better-manage them in my own life. As I’ve always believed “each vote counts” when it comes to election time, I took that same stance toward consumption and began to consider ways I could simplify. I figured I’d try some things differently throughout the 50-day period and just see how it went.

    Sure enough, the things I “tried out” back in the first Spilling Hope campaign are things I’ve continued to incorporate in my life today. It’s been great to add to that list each year, trying new ways to simplify, which has led to more learning and revelation, and to new ways to give. Funny how that happens to parallel our walk with God. We submit some new aspect of our lives to Him and He takes that and multiplies it for our good and His glory. Over the years those many little steps add up to significant transformation and growth, which instills hope and gives proof of how the Lord works through us to make the invisible visible. He multiplies what we give, and in doing so we learn more about Him as Jehovah-Jireh, our provider.

    Through this I’ve come to find an increasing hope amidst my own struggles and trials. Just as it will take time for lives to be transformed by the good work many are doing to bring clean water to parts of Uganda and Rwanda, so it will take time for Him to transform my life to become more like His Son Jesus. Spilling Hope has helped me come to grips with that, so each year I look forward to seeing how the Lord will use it to teach me more about who He is and who I am in Him. I encourage you to be a part of Spilling Hope and to see how the Lord will use it to transform your life and those around you. Transformation through Him is guaranteed. In that, tremendous hope exists!

  • Living Simply, So That Others May Simply Live

    05.04.11 | Comment?

    by Peter Warski

    According to UNICEF, a staggering 52 percent of Ugandans live under the international poverty line of U.S. $1.25 per day. Think about that number for a moment. Then, think about the implication it has for your own life.

    In my case, $1.25 wouldn’t buy me enough gas to get to work in the morning (and I’m not including the return trip). It’s a tiny fraction of what I spend when I go out to lunch. If I go out for happy hour after work, a “good deal” for a beer would normally cost about three times that amount. And if I go to a movie at the theater — well, you get the point.

    “Live simply, so that others may simply live.” I borrowed this line from a bumper sticker I occasionally see. It makes a memorable but profound statement about the purpose of Spilling Hope. The goal of this campaign is not to induce guilt for living the way we do. Actually, it’s the opposite of that. The aim is to empower participants, who increase awareness of their lifestyle choices, exercise good stewardship over those choices, and, in so doing, display compassion, generosity, and HOPE to others.

    This isn’t merely a matter of spending less money, or consuming less — although that’s part of it. It’s about recognizing the impact of the decisions we make — as Christians, as consumers, as Americans, as human beings. What effects do those decisions have on others — whether they’re our neighbors here in Seattle, or a struggling family on the other side of the world?

    So, during the next 50 days (and beyond), I’ll be considering ways to live simply. Does it make sense to drive alone when I can carpool, walk, bike, or take public transportation? Is a trip to Starbucks necessary when I can drink coffee at home, at work, or not at all? Should I ever drink or purchase bottled water when our municipal water is perfectly safe to drink? And should I turn up the thermostat, or simply wear an additional layer?

    But I’ll also pay attention to the footprint I leave behind. Am I purchasing items that are produced, sold, and traded fairly and ethically? Are those items environmentally sustainable? Can they be reused, recycled, or composted? These questions are easy for me to ignore. But every product I buy has some impact on a person I’ll never meet.

    And, indeed, I’ve yet to meet a person who is forced to live on just $1.25 per day. But I’m encouraged by the knowledge that simple choices I make — and the generosity and compassion those choices allow — can help offer hope to someone facing such a struggle. As we celebrate this season of new life, I hope you are, too.