KIDS HATE SHARING

I was shocked to see my best friend Aaron get grabbed by his ears and yelled at by his mother. I can tell by his grimacing face that she had one heck of a grip on it. I told her it was no big deal and it didn’t bother me. She said, “Jo-Jo, stay out of our family affairs.” So I did. She went on to say, “We’ve been telling this boy he needs to learn to share more. All he does is take, take, take, and take from people. But when it comes to sharing, it doesn’t get anymore selfish then him.” I knew I shouldn’t have asked for some of his potato chips.
Something about sharing just doesn’t resonate with kids. I’ve watched some of the most loving parents do an excellent job raising some of the most loving children. But when it came to sharing, these loving children turn into rabid pit-bulls. I’m constantly telling my daughter she needs to share. She agrees with the statement, but doesn’t AGREE with the statement.
“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Acts 20:35 NIV
Somewhere along the line someone had taught me how to share. Sometime in my life, it was more then my parent’s emphasis on sharing that opened my eyes to the beauty of sharing. At some point, it went past words and it was put into action. That’s what caught my attention. That’s what got me excited about sharing. That’s when I found out one of the most beautiful things someone can do for someone else is giving up a portion of what it is they have as an expression of selflessness and love. It’s a practice worth doing. I’ve seen 65-year-old men and women who’ve been trained to never provide for someone who doesn’t earn it or obtain it themselves. If you ask me, that goes completely against scripture. What’s that one bible verse? Oh yeah. “God helps those who help themselves.” Oh…wait. That’s not in the Bible. That was that old lady down the road.