Giving Of Ourselves?

I don't know if it started when I joined the Stewardship Ministry Team, as I can't remember ever having a real need to use this phrase prior to that, but I am someone who frequently uses the phrase (or some variation of) "giving of ourselves." As someone who writes things here and there for stewardship, you can see how this phrase might come into play. As we all came to embrace the idea of stewardship as the cultivation of our spiritual relationship with God through the giving of our time, talents, and treasures, it seemed fitting to think of this as "giving of ourselves." The obvious sacrifice of "giving of ourselves" seemed to go along so well with the sacrifices that all of us were making in our stewardship, and I found a deeper element rooted in some sort of implication that this phrase implied giving everything we had to give, even pieces of ourselves. It added a sort of emotional connection to what we were doing, by claiming that which we were giving as a part of "ourselves." We were not just donating to the food pantries, we were giving of ourselves. We were not just volunteering to work at the pumpkin patch, we were giving all of our time that we could muster. Now, I find a problem with this phrase.

The problem, to me, is that this phrase makes what we are doing all about us, when it really is not. These gifts that we are sharing with the world through our stewardship, these gifts that we claim as our gifts or as a part of ourselves, are gifts that we have already been blessed with by the spirit. These "spiritual gifts," though different based on the individual, are given to each of us so that we make take them out into the world and use them to bring God's will to fruition. We are called to use them. Yet, when we do use them, too often it is not in answering the call to share these gifts in every opportunity. It is using these gifts at a time and in a way that is convenient for us and our schedules. It is "giving of ourselves" rather than utilizing the gifts of the spirit that we have been given to their fullest in order to bring about Kingdom. However, we are getting better, and are beginning to act in a way that promotes God's will in the world without concern for self. But the question I keep coming back to in my mind is...

Does the idea that we are using these spiritual gifts out in the world to fulfill the purposes for which they were given to us warrant any sort of "sacrifice of self," or is there really as much flaw in phrases like "giving of ourselves" as I am currently seeing there to be?

Yes, it is through our stewardship and the development of our spiritual relationship with God that we are given the opportunities to share these spiritual gifts, but are they really our gifts to look at with a sense of personal sacrifice?

On the one side of the coin, I feel like we all view our stewardship as being built on personal sacrifice. We see the opportunity costs associated with the money we give or the time that we spend in ministry, and view all of these decisions as a conscious choice that we have to make regarding the use of our gifts. On the other side, however, I can see that some of us were given voices to sing, and spread God's love through song. Some of us were given talents in home repair, to spread God's will by bettering the lives of others. Some of us were given joy and the gift of laughter, to spread God's love by putting a smile on the faces of complete strangers. And all of us were given time, to spread God's will by working to bring about Kingdom in the world. If we are simply using a gift we have been given by the spirit for its intended purpose, is it really "self sacrifice," or is it simply answering our call?

What do you think Shiloh?
Justin Sierschula