Soren Kierkegaard tells this parable:
A man was talking down the street and saw a beautiful sign proudly displayed in a shop window. “Pants Pressed Here,” the sign said. So the man walked into the shop, walked up to the counter, took off his trousers and handed them to the clerk.
“Why did you give me your pants?” the clerk asked.
“I want them pressed,” the man explained.
“Oh, we don’t press pants,” the clerk told him. “We sell signs.”
As Christians and as a Christian Church, I know what we say we are. I know what we advertise ourselves to be. But who are we really? And that’s not a matter of advertising; that’s a matter of action.
A mentor of mine once put it simply. He said, “If you want to know what someone believes in, look at two things: their calendar and their check book.” Simplistically put, yes, but that really is just another way of saying that our actions speak louder than our words.
That’s what every day, not just Stewardship Sunday, is all about for us. This Sunday just reminds of the fact that we are not what we say we are but what we do.
- If you’re an American citizen, then you vote.
- If you’re a mother or a father, then you care for your children.
- If you’re a neighbor, then you get your leaves raked up before they all blow into someone else’s yard.
- If you’re a Christian, then you give, give as best you are able, give generously, and give joyously.
I know what we say we are, but who are we really?
Your friend and fellow minister,
Rev. Steve Savides
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