Sharing

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

SHARING

Luke 3:10-14

10 "What should we do then?" the crowd asked. 11 John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?" 13 "Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them. 14 Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely — be content with your pay."

NIV

After hearing the searing accusation against the Pharisees and Sadducees, the people became worried and started to ask John about their own lives. “What should we do then?”. The principle that John told them was all about love, or charity, sharing our abundance of material goods with those who have little to none. There have always been beggars in the world, in fact, the story of the beggar Lazarus and the rich man shows us there were beggars then and the pitfalls of the man with two tunics and much food who did not share with the man in need. However, today there are still beggars, and some have taken up residence on the street corners seeking money. The question is always if they are truly in need or scammers just looking like being poor so they can live off others. There are legitimate people in need and organizations that provide food and other needs that we can support with donations, both monetarily and with material foodstuffs and personal items. This may be the best way to follow this principle, but there is also the leading of the Spirit when faced with someone on the street who is asking for help. We also must understand there that will forever be a disparity in income among people, but that is what this concept is speaking to. Just because someone makes more than the other does not mean they should give to level the playing field. This is about those who have, providing help to those who have none. Anyone who has some can always give a little to someone with none. Let us be open to seeing a real need and offering one of our tunics or some of our food. That is simply sharing.