THE ALMOST-LAST WORD

Politics: the Stewardship of Power

by Carol Cole Flanagan

The Episcopal Women's Caucus has sometimes been accused of being political. We are. And it is a quality I want to embrace without apology! Aristotle, writing in the fourth century BCE, identified politics as the search for the good life. He understood it to have a moral and philosophical component. According to a more recent definition, politics is who gets what, when, where, why, and how.

In theological terms, this is a matter of stew ardship. As Christians we believe that all we have is a gift from God. In Genesis 1:26f. we're told that God gave to humankind dominion over all creation. In so doing, we--each and every one of us--was made a steward of all that God has given us. We can be good stewards. We can be poor stewards. But we cannot say, "Gee, I think I'd rather not." It was a solemn appointment, not a social invitation.

Among those many gifts is the gift of power.

The power God bestows upon us enables us to do all that we do, and be all that we are. It enables us to form relationships that nourish and sustain us. It enables us to develop the many skills and talents we possess. It allows us to undertake meaningful work, to serve others, and to advance God's plan for the salvation of the world.

The question, of course, is who gets what, when, where, why, and how. Politics is the means by which we exercise stewardship of the power God has given us--the means by which we seek to apportion God's resources for God's purposes.

In the parable of the talents, a master going on a journey entrusted his property to three servants (Matthew 25:14-30). You know the tale. Two of them invested the master's resources. The third buried the talent entrusted to him because he was afraid. Upon the master's return, the first two were commended, but the third was condemned.

The power bestowed upon us is a gift. It is in tended to be used to the glory of God, the honor of Jesus Christ, the building up of the church, and the welfare of the human community. It was not given to us to be buried.

So when people accuse us of being political, I am encouraged. It tells me we are doing something right. We may mistakes, but let them be mistakes of commission rather than omission. Let us not bury our talents.

As some wag once said, "A mistake is sure and certain evidence that someone tried to do something." So let us be political. Without apology. Let us be the best stewards we can be of the power God has given us.