So Share

DEVOTION
1 TIMOTHY
SO SHARE
1 Tim 6:18-19
18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
NIV
The concluding thoughts to yesterdays devotion about not trusting in wealth but rather in God are what I need to deal with here. I think it would be a great thing for not only those with wealth, but for all believers to be rich in good deeds. It might be a little more difficult for those who do not have wealth to be generous and willing to share as far as money goes, but surely all can be generous and willing to share of themselves. That is what I think I surely must be willing to do. To be there for others when a need is at hand is surely a good deed. But considering the rest of what is said here about laying up treasure in heaven rather than on earth surely speaks directly to the storing up, saving of money for personal consumption at some later date. This I simply cannot understand why some believers do not get this. It would almost seem as though there is great pride in having wealth. Maybe God has blessed them, and maybe they are generous and willing to share their money with others. Maybe they give way more than ten percent to the church, but I am not sure that is what is talked about here. Giving to the church so the church knows who is giving it and passes out receipts for tax write offs may not be as generous as it seems. I believe in my giving I should not let my right hand know what my left hand is doing. Truly generous is giving without anyone but God knowing about it, even the church. No records, no accounting, no people counting the cash, and recording my giving is what I think is right. If I give it is between me and my Lord, if I do not give, that too is between me and my Lord. Yet I do believe I should be generous with myself as well, and willing to share of my time, my efforts, my talents, skills, whatever I can do when a need is known. Sometimes I think it is easier to share money than time. If I had great wealth it would not be of any consequence to give some of it away, but time, self, costs way more than a sum of money, if I still had a great deal more of it. Even though I could have an unlimited amount of money in the life I could not take any of it into the age to come. As far as time, I do have a limited amount of that in this life and it is more precious than money because of its limit. Being generous and sharing of my time, I believe is of greater value than sharing of money. The question is of course am I sharing enough of myself and my time. And I don’t think I should be doing it just to lay up treasures for myself in the age to come, but because is it the right thing to do. My motive for being generous should not be for rewards in the age to come, but it should be because that is what God desires me to do. Yes, I want to take hold of the life that is truly life, but I also want to please my Lord. So share.