Sharing Time
How generous are you?
One who keeps the law makes many offerings; one who heeds the commandments makes an offering of well-being. One who returns a kindness offers choice flour, and one who gives alms sacrifices a thank-offering. To keep from wickedness is pleasing to the Lord, and to forsake unrighteousness is an atonement. Do not appear before the Lord empty-handed, for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the commandment. The offering of the righteous enriches the altar, and its pleasing odor rises before the Most High. The sacrifice of the righteous is acceptable, and it will never be forgotten. Be generous when you worship the Lord, and do not stint the first fruits of your hands. With every gift show a cheerful face, and dedicate your tithe with gladness. Give to the Most High as he has given to you, and as generously as you can afford. For the Lord is the one who repays, and he will repay you sevenfold. Do not offer him a bribe, for he will not accept it; and do not rely on a dishonest sacrifice; for the Lord is the judge, and with him there is no partiality. He will not show partiality to the poor; but he will listen to the prayer of one who is wronged. He will not ignore the supplication of the orphan, or the widow when she pours out her complaint. - Sirach 35:1-17
Sometimes I think we think about giving the wrong way.
We tend to think of giving as a sacrifice, something we have to give up in order to give to another, but what if we thought about it as a sharing experience?
If you think way back to elementary school days, for those of you are a long distance from that time like me, and you put yourself back in the cafeteria, sitting at one of the long tables with your fellow classmates, you may remember experiences of sharing that didn't feel like giving.
When you opened your lunchbox and found a package of Twinkies or Yodels, did you eat both cakes in the package or did you share one with a friend?
That act of sharing was joyful. It wasn't about sacrifice at all.
We don't think about sharing as giving, even as adults. While walking through the streets of a quaint old city in Europe on vacation, chatting with newfound friends from our tour, do we consider it giving when we share our baguette?
As we approach the holiday season and start to think about giving thanks for all we have, maybe we could benefit from changing our mindset a bit.
Maybe we should call it Thanks-sharing instead of Thanksgiving.
We will share the abundance from our table on that special day when we give thanks to God for having what we have, and we certainly won't be judging anyone at the table who may not have as much as we have.
Instead, we will simply share a meal.
If we don't take the time to stop and share, but offer something on the go, we miss the best part of the experience. We become givers rather than sharers.
Maybe, this holiday season, we can stop and take a moment to share rather than give, and walk away feeling rewarded rather than having made a sacrifice.
More to come...