Stewardship - Your Stories

Thanks to everyone for sharing your thoughts about stewardship and about the contrasts between Judah’s choices and behavior and those of Joseph. If you want to add anything to the discussion, send it to me. Thanks for being in our class!

Angela Gutierrez: Hello Cory! Thank you for teaching this class. The life of Joseph was certainly very interesting and we can learn so much from it. On your question about chores and responsibilities, I have some feedback. I grew up in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. I was the oldest and was always considered to be more mature. My sisters, since they were younger, were not given as many responsibilities. They only got things like new toys, trips, cuddles, etc. You know, the not-so-important things. Since I was 12 years old, I was responsible for cooking for my whole family. I cooked for my siblings, my parents, and the men who worked with my father. Every day my dad gave me a generous allowance for the meals. And whatever I didn’t spend, I got to keep. I learned to be creative and frugal. I got a little greedy and progressively made the meals more simple, so that I could save more money. One day my dad complained and I had to change course. So then I had to deal with the decreased source of income. I always enjoyed cooking. Maybe that’s why they entrusted me with such an important chore. God bless. Angela 

Jerry Franklin: As a youngster, I had the following chores: 1. Take care of the dog. 2. Dry the evening dishes. 3. Take care of the yard: mowing, trimming, and edging. I learned the importance of taking care of things that were important to my parents and to me (the dog).

Stewardship occurs when you are given the responsibility of taking care of property that does not belong to you, whereas taking care of your own property is natural or normal. I would say the greater responsibility is taking care of others’ property.

Judah’s behavior was sexually immoral, whereas Joseph’s behavior was honorable by not giving in to Potiphar’s wife’s sexual advances.

Nancy Boyd: Mother taught us girls to clean house, do laundry, dust and eventually learned to cook which helped when I got married. I also took care and watched over my little sister to make sure she stayed out of trouble. My mother had to work & there were times when we got older that we took care of each other & cleaned house & cooked dinner to help Mother.

Stewardship is a commitment to be responsible to something or someone you love. Ownership is owning your own car, for example.

Steve Smith: Stewardship is managing someone else’s assets. The owner is the one with the assets.

Kathleen Whitson: In the realm of money, stewardship defines the overseeing of an amount of money or a budget to keep it safe and to utilize in the best way. In Higher Education, faculty are often referred to as stewards of knowledge. They hold it securely and distribute it among the students for the best use and so that the students might prosper in knowledge. Stated simply but profound in use. 

Favoritism and Jealousy - Your Stories

In our current study called “Joseph – A Life of Many Colors,” I’ve invited the members of our class (both those attending in person and those watching online) to share their own experiences related to favoritism and jealousy in their families. Each one has given me permission to pass their comments along. Thanks to each of you!

Nancy Boyd: My grandparents & family on my father’s side always treated my oldest sister like she was the smartest person & hung the moon & Mary & I were nothing special. My mother always made sure we were all given the same amount of gifts & the same amount of discipline when we misbehaved. She didn’t want to make a difference between us. She also loved on us after we had been disciplined & discussed why we were disciplined. I had wonderful parents.

Rhonda Cox: Oh, yes! There was a bit of favoritism when my brother and I were growing up. My Mom favored my brother, Dan, and my Dad was a lot easier on me! There were feelings of jealousy now and then…..but never anything that caused a big rift between my brother and me. As adults, my brother and I now joke about it. We never doubted our parent’s love. We believe they loved us equally, but sometimes they showed their love for us in different ways. 

I am really enjoying this study of Joseph! Thank you!

Michael Di Paolo: I was the guy who wasn’t sure he would ever be married. I was 31 when I met Janis and it was game over. I dove headfirst into marriage. I never thought I’d have kids so when we decided to have kids I again dove in headfirst. 

One of the smartest things I’ve ever done was to learn my daughter’s personalities when they were little. They are very different. So I spent time with each of them growing up doing things that they liked. They are both my favorites but in different ways. I never tried to make them be the same. Also, I always told them they could grow up to do anything. I never directed them at anything in particular. It worked. We are very close. Even today, I do different things with each girl - for example, Melissa and I cook together because we both enjoy it. Laura and I always did outdoor things together. My girls and I used to do some things together as a group like roller blading or shopping. I learned how to shop and am really pretty good at it just to be able to spend time with Janis and the girls. I still talk to my girls weekly and they are 39 and 41 now. We still enjoy going out to breakfast together when their schedules permit. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty close. 

I think favoritism kills relationships of all kinds. I try to be the same way with my 7 grandkids. I ask: what do you like to do? My injury has really made everything more difficult but at the same time has kept us close. 

Landon Hinsdale: Favoritism is nothing more than boldly shouting one’s covert allegiance. The action puts family/people on a totem pole to show them how much they are not loved. And dangerously flirts idolatry putting someone’s love above God.

Kathleen Whitson: For some reason this came to mind. I had not thought of it in years. My MOTHER WAS THE BABY OF 5 daughters with an age span of 12 years. The oldest took the role of “mother”. The next to the oldest was the instigator of everything mischievous. My mother was indeed the baby.

When my Mother was about 3-1/2, the instigator talked the younger ones into having my Mother’s funeral. They put her in a box, sealed it, and had a full funeral with hymns and eulogy. I don’t know the passage of time, when my Grandmother went looking for my mother and heard muffled crying. She rescued her from the box. I don’t know what punishment was administered. I do know my grandmother did not spank.

My Mother was then claustrophobic the rest of her life.

Just an interesting story of siblings.

Loving your class.