| FEBRUARY 3, 2025 -- The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor
Deuteronomy 15:7-8
“If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be”
Hebrews 13:16
“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God”
One of the earliest lessons we should have been taught even before we started Nursery School is the need to share with others. Children need to learn to share so that they may make and keep friends, play cooperatively, take turns, and learn to deal with disappointments. Part of growing up is to make sharing a part of your continuing relationship with others.
If we are to fully follow the two great commandments of loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself, then it is necessary that you follow them indeed as well as in thought. This means, among other actions, sharing what we have with those who are in need. Whatever you have has been given to you through God’s grace. I am speaking not only of material wealth but of your other assets: time, talent, and treasure.
In many ways sharing of your time and talent may mean more for other people than sharing of your material wealth. This can be as simple as giving a person a ride to a doctor’s appointment or to church or as complicated as volunteering to help found and run a charitable organization. Sometimes sharing means taking time to listen to another person’s stories or complaints so that they are provided with the feeling of companionship. Sometimes it means sitting and reading to an invalid or person with visual problems.
One of the things that I have observed through this long life of mine is that sharing with others has its own rewards. In general, those who share live much happier lives than those who do not share. How much better it is to have somewhat less in time and material wealth and be happy than to have more material wealth and more time on your hands and be gloomy. In fact, since sharing and giving increases the number of your friends and opens doors that otherwise might be closed to you, you might say that your total wealth has increased.
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