Sharing

"No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had." Acts 4:13b

For such a short and succinct verse there are a few little sensitive subjects herein; personal ownership, private property, sharing and the concept of 'everything'. As those who live in the most prosperous nation ever we, are motivated often by capitalistic and entrepreneurial themes to an extreme. The idea of personal responsibility loses its depth of meaning if it ends up being "money-grubbing" or "selfish". Ownership can be a good thing as long as we don't start rubbing our hands together and saying, "Mine! Mine! It's all mine!!" There is a small space on the attitude continuum between frugal and unwilling to share.

At first reading, this verse could sound like a call to communal-ism. Which isn't all bad, you know. We do understand that God owns everything and His plans supersede ours, but it is tempting to think that what is mine is only God's in an intangible sense. So how do we balance all these competing concepts about 'stuff'? Well, we do know we don't take it with us, that is for sure. We also know that we are stewards of all that God allows us to have. But still, what is mine is mine, right? Like you... I now have a small trove (I bet many of you have a bigger trove than I do) of stuff that I do not know where it came from or how I came to possess it. Worse yet, I don't use it, and really struggle with what to do with it. The storage business is thriving during hard economic times. Why, because we can't let go of our almighty stuff. I call it almighty because when it comes before God it becomes a god to us.

Which brings me to the last of the sensitive subjects, everything. Yes Everything. I think the key for us is not to let go of the ugliest and least useful of the junk we have collected or been given, but instead to let go of everything. When I just wrote this, I let out a big spontaneous sigh, because it feels good not to be so connected to things. People and principles are so much more important. I probably have stronger convictions about this than most, but it bothers me that I have so much and others have so little. What also bothers me is the other end of the spectrum about 'entitlement' and people believing they are owed 'something'. Many times I have been shocked at the pickiness of people in need. Granted, my 'junk' is not what they really need. But, there does seem to be a mindset today that believes that what is yours is partly mine. We must get back to the basic principle of it all belonging to God and we are the stewards. So we share and not just the junk. We should share so much more. Sharing is a powerful thing to do. So is saving. So is living within our means. So is tithing. So is being a faithful steward. Let's all think about it some more and not jump to any conclusions until we have asked God more often about what should we do with our stuff. Or, better yet, ask God if we need so much stuff before we buy it. Just saying.

In His Grip,
Pastor Fred

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