In Yoke

Give all thou canst; high Heaven rejects the lore Of nicely-calculated less or more. -William Wordsworth From my teacher: This morning, when I was reading an important New York paper, I noticed an article on the dynamics of gift-giving. This article quoted a distinguished professor of sociology as saying that in every gift there is a reciprocal relationship, even if it is not conscious. In other words, when you are making a gift, you are expecting a gift in return. Not only that, there are very subtle social gradations: gifts to longtime friends, to recent friends, to acquaintances, to possible benefactors. All these factors come into play when choosing the gift. No wonder shopping for gifts is so terribly time-consuming. No wonder people feel confused and inadequate about what to give. But the spiritual approach is very simple. Whatever you give - it may be a check to a worthy cause, it may be clothes to a person who is cold, it may be food to the hungry, it may be medical help to the...

In short, it is the work of a steward. What is a steward? A steward is-via the dictionary: A person who manages the property or affairs for another entity. A ship's officer who is in charge of making dining arrangements and provisions. A flight attendant, especially but not exclusively a male flight attendant. Often as "air steward", "airline steward", etc. A union member who is selected as a representative for fellow workers in negotiating terms with management. [syn:...a shop steward ] A person who has charge of buildings and/or grounds and/or animals. [syn: a custodian, a keeper] In IT, somebody who is responsible for managing a set of projects, products or technologies and how they affect the IT organization to which they belong. All these contemporary definitions refer to managing the possessions or properties of another, a 'higher up'. I believe that it implies servanthood. It implies obedience. The analogy of the Kingdom of God, and our role in...