Christian and Christian
Mark S. Roberti, Director of Stewardship and Development
Heartland Parishes of Ellis County

In a recent conversation with a friend, something slipped out of my mouth that later gave me pause to think. I know, I know, one is supposed to think and then speak, but that does not always happen in my case.  In this conversation I said, "Well, there are Christians and there are Christians."  Immediately, it struck me just how true that statement is.

What makes us a Christian?  Our baptism?  Absolutely.  Our profession of faith? That’s very important too.  But the way we live our lives is also a very important ingredient.  In Catholic theology our baptism puts an indelible mark on our soul.  We’re marked for Christ.  That can never, never be erased from our souls...no matter what we chose to, or chose not to do.

When we profess our faith, that is supposed to be what we believe from the very core of our being.  Today, however, I might be baptized a Christian and call myself a Christian yet there may be very little that is Christian about the way I live my life.  That’s what I mean when I say there are Christians and there are Christians.  Millions of people out there who claim to be Christians don’t remotely live their lives as Christians should.

That’s not a judgment; it’s a fact.  How God is going to judge them, I don’t know.  Nor do I know, in God’s eyes, how I stand.  But what I do know is that to be baptized a Christian and to profess being a Christian might not be such a good thing if I am not going to live the life of a Christian. Because, in truth, I’m presenting myself as at standard to which I am not holding myself.  It is, nevertheless, the standard to which God is holding me.

There are certain worldly advantages to being a Christian.  In this nation we are part of the majority.  Some of the nicest people in the world are Christians.  Many of our friends within our social groups are Christians.  We’re given a certain respect as a Christian.  If we own a business, it will probably mean more profits.  All this because we can claim the “tag” Christian. 

But if I am confessing to be something I am not living, what am I doing with my life?  What is the advantage to that?   Instead of the indelible mark on our soul guiding us to eternal salvation, what’s really happening is that sin is burning a hole in our soul, the very core of our being.  Sure, by its nature our soul tries to fight back and appropriate the grace that God so abundantly shares with us, but if we are not cooperating with grace we begin to drown in our sin.     

So how can we tell whether we are a Christian or a Christian?  I’d guess that the best indicator is our willingness to suffer for the Kingdom of God.  It’s our human nature to avoid suffering.  It’s our divine nature to embrace it.  And make no mistake about it, there are traces of a divine nature in us.  Those traces are not ours, but the very piece of God that is within us.  When we die, presuming we get to heaven, we will somehow share in God’s divinity.

But when we avoid the hard part of being a Christian, suffering, we harm ourselves and Christianity as a whole.  That does not mean we are to go out and look for suffering.  But each of us is supposed to carry his/her share of the Cross.  What’s that share?  It is the share God give us.

Stewardship is part of the share that God gives us.  We are supposed to tithe of our time, talent, and treasure.  With time, our prayer and worship, we are supposed to set time aside for God everyday.  Not as little as we can, but as much as we can.   Only we (& God) know what we truly can do.  But I would guess for most of us, we do less than we can.  We let other activities get in the way.

Talent is a similar.  The gifts God has given to us are not meant only for us and our families.  We are supposed to be sharing them with our faith community and greater community.  Here in the Heartland Parishes, we ask that each person give back, in ministry and service, a minimum of two hours per week to the Church and greater community.  Again, only we and God know what we can do.  But for most of us, doing that would simply be a matter of rearranging our priorities.

Stewardship of treasure, too, is a demand that God puts upon us.  It is scriptural!  The tithe is not just anything we want to give and call a “tithe.”  It’s ten percent.  That’s what “tithe” means.  It is a sacrifice to God.  Sacrifice entails suffering.  The whole concept starts in the very beginning of the Bible, the book of Genesis 14:14, where Abraham offers tithes of the spoils of his conquest to the high priest Melchezidek.

The Church in the United States, respecting that there are many noble causes, asks that each parish family contribute five percent of our income to the parish, one percent to the diocese, and four percent to other charities. 

Stewardship of time, talent, and treasure…they all entail sacrifice and suffering.  So did dying on the Cross for our sins.