When each of my three boys were still learning to make sounds in their very early days, my wife and I proudly taught them to say “mama” and “dada”. We were somewhat less than proud when we heard them say “mine!” for the first time. Who taught them that? Not me. Must have been my wife. Don’t worry, I'm not throwing her under the bus. She’ll never know, besides she never reads this newsletter. Let’s just keep it between us and the internet. I digress.
We all learned that word “mine” at some point in life; it’s easy to say and easy to believe in its veracity.
My car.
My house.
My company.
My job.
My money.
My body.
My life.
We see ourselves as owners. That can be helpful terminology when it comes to figuring out who an illegally parked car or a runaway cat belongs to. But it may not be the best word to describe our relationship with people and things. There are some downsides to seeing ourselves as “owners”, such as:
- Selfishness: If I own my money, I can do whatever I want with it. I can be irresponsible and stingy because it’s mine.
- Lack of accountability: If I own what I have, I don’t have to invite others to give me wisdom or feedback about my decisions…which means I can end up doing things I regret because I never stopped to ask for input.
- Unnecessary Stress: Ownership can look like a closed fist; holding tightly to something that’s ours or that we want to be ours, feeling like it’s all up to us to attain it or keep it.
The solution, at least from my vantage point, is not to dis-posses ourselves of everything. It’s not to “not care”. It’s not to adopt the monastic life of total poverty (that’s a calling for very few).
The solution to selfishness, lack of accountability or unnecessary stress when it comes to people and things is this word: Stewardship
What if we are Stewards, and not Owners?
Yes, a steward is heavily involved, cares deeply and acts like an owner. But a steward is also open-handed, less stressed, more generous and can make better decisions.
Why? Over the next few weeks this newsletter will attempt to answer that question. We will ask ourselves how our mental, emotional and physical approach to life would change if we understood that we are stewards of our: Bodies, Relationships, Work, Money, Assets & Time.
