Robert Fulghum in his book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten writes, “ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned: Share Everything…” (2).
Sharing can be a great concept to instill in our children, but when the time comes for us to share what we have with others, it becomes a challenge because the sharing takes more time or resources than the candy, dolls, or Legos we invite our children to share with their friends. Sharing makes us take value of our time, resources, finances, etc. to make decisions about the level of sacrifice we are willing to make. We see the need in front of us and must decide how we will share and invest in the situation.
A famous story from the gospels is the Rich Young Ruler. Jesus tells him to sell everything he has and come follow me. The Rich Young Ruler has done the “easier” things of keeping the commandments, but when faced with the sacrifice of liquidating his assets and giving them away, the sacrifice is too much. The idea of sharing all he has becomes too difficult and he walks away from Jesus’ invitation to follow him. We likewise come to the point of assessment and measuring the cost when we are invited to share our resources to help someone else or to help a ministry or social organization fulfill their mission. We are invited to trust the Lord for what we need, as we share our resources with others.
In Hebrews 13:16 we read, “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” As we move toward the end of our Lenten adventure, the invitation is for us to share with others: our time, our energy, our finances, our resources, etc. As the Holy Spirit guides us and we are obedient to His still small voice, we may come to times when it is difficult to share. Yet, we are called to share with others as a way of pleasing God and as a daily surrender to follow Jesus.
Prayer: Jesus, thank you for everything you entrust to me: my time, my energy, my finances, my resources. Give me the strength to be obedient to your call for me to share these gifts you have given to me. Amen.