Sharing.... People share, share, share. They share on twitter. They share on facebook. They share on Instagram. They share on pintrest. It seems sharing is running rampant through the universe. We have a pandemic of sharing going on. But the question I would ask is, Has all this social media of "sharing" given sharing a bad name?
Seriously folks, I do not need to know when you eat, sleep and go pee. I don't need to see on my computer or phone, your roller coaster of emotions for the day, And again tomorrow a whole new set of them. And lets face it, I have my own wild ride to ride. Alas there are people who say, "If you don't like what I'm sharing, don't read it". There is something bigger here, than just that. What we share is a reflection of whats in our heart.
If we are sharing pornography, we don't value women or the beauty of intimacy. If we swear and rant, we are reflecting a heart full of anger. If we gossip, our heart is reflecting that we are hurting inside. I don't know about you, but it's hard enough to look in the mirror and see those things in myself, let alone announce it to the world...... that would be my worst nightmare.
There are two kinds of sharing.
Emotional sharing and physical sharing. We need to teach these differences to our children. Sharing with your grandmother that you would not be caught dead in the outfit she just bought you, is not kind. Sharing how much you appreciate her coming to your soccer game is.
Physical sharing fulfills a need someone else has. We teach our children from the time they are very small, to share. Share your toys, share your cookie, share your crayons, etc. It is no easy task! It takes years to get our children to willingly give up something of "theirs" to someone else. I spent MANY years on this subject as my kids came up thru the ranks. The more kids I had, the more the sharing requirements multiplied and divided.
My kids were taught to share. There was one exception to that rule. They did not have to share their blankie, or their one special stuffed animal buddy. These were theirs exclusively. I defended that right for them because I believed it was important that they have ownership of the one thing that was most important to them. Everything else was fair game. When it came to sharing a piece of cake, one was to cut, and the other to pick which piece they wanted. That one little exercise kept everyone in check. It also re-emphasized the saying, "do on to others as you would like them to do on to you".
When it comes to sharing our emotions, I like to refer to the verse Philippians 4:8 Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is right, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things.
When it comes to sharing our physical things, it is important to remember that ALL of what we have is really God's, and only entrusted to us. Sharing is ultimately not about what we lose, but what we gain.