Sharing is caring

Know what's gotten a bad rap? Sharing.

In ages past, sharing was something done from the heart for the benefit of another. I learned a little song in preschool about sharing:

I have two dollies and I am glad.

You have no dolly and you are sad.

I'll share my dolly 'cause I love you

and that's what Jesus wants me to do.

You probably never heard that one. And that's too bad. Sharing is caring when done from a heart filled with love. But today, it seems sharing is demanded by selfish people, or mocked by (again) selfish people.

• When someone wants a piece of your pie: Sharing is caring.

• When a co-worker comes to the office sick: Sharing is caring.

• When your sibling wants your seat: Sharing is caring.

And then there's this:

If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other side also. And if anyone takes away your coat, don't hold back your shirt either. Give to everyone who asks you, and from one who takes your things, don't ask for them back.

Woah. How difficult is that to hear, let alone do?

I pondered those words for years, until I heard a sermon so long ago the speaker has faded from memory. However, the message echoes loud and clear in my mind. We can only give to that capacity from a place of strength and humility and compassion. If someone hits you, from a place of inner dignity--because you know Who's child you are--you can turn the other check as an offering to the other person's weakness. If oppressors demand your coat, give them your shirt, too, because you have an abundance of something they lack.

You are rich in intangible ways.

You are worthy in God's sight.

You are strong in the Lord.

You are loved by God, without measure.

You are infilled by the Spirit of God.

You drink from a wellspring of abundance. Because of this, you can give liberally to minister to another person's emptiness. Your worth is not found in the things you have but in Who's you are. Your acts of kindness don't depend on what others do or don't do to you.

Sharing really is caring, but only when done from a spirit of true compassion for the betterment of others regardless of whether they deserve it. And the only way we can have true compassion is when Christ lives in us in the person of the Holy Spirit.

And another thought. Some people feel they are only required to be kind to those who are like-minded. While it is true that we are called to care for each other--to have each other's backs physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually--we are also called to love on others as God loves on us.

Romans 12:13 -- Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.

Psalms 24:1 -- The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.

We're all covered by the blood of Jesus. Even your enemy. Even your nosy neighbor. Even the gossiping church member. Even your crazy boss. Even the homeless person sleeping in the shelter of your eve or yelling at you as you walk down the sidewalk. So what do you have to share with them?

God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

So be merciful, sympathetic, tender, responsive, and compassionate even as your Father is all these.

Share love. And as the Holy Spirit guides you, share your money, your time, your coat, your seat, or your pie. Share Jesus. Use words as necessary.

*Luke 6: 29-30; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Luke 6:36 (Amplified version)