Visions From the Early Church: Sharing

"And all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need." Acts 2:44-45

Robert Fulghum in his poem "All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten" lists nineteen learnings which if practiced, he believes, would enrich all of our lives. As the title implies he acquired these learnings not in graduate school but "there in the sand pile of Sunday School." These learnings include: don't hit people, put things back where you found them and clean up your own mess. My favorites are flush, and hold hands and stick together. However for our purpose here let's return to the first learning on his list: share everything.

 

Kindergarten is a time in life upon which we seldom look back. My impression is that our memories of that grade fade quickly in the mad rush of the years that follow. Yet kindergarten is a time when we are taught many of our most basic social skills including how to interact with others in appropriate ways. One of the essential skills we are taught is to share. We are taught to share crayons, books, toys and the teacher's time.

 

Sharing, as a social skill however, does not last long. Almost as quickly as we learn it we are taught to set it aside. As soon as we enter any type of competitive environment we are told that "the ball" is ours and we are not to share it. We are taught not to share answers on tests. We are taught not to share the spotlight on stage. We are taught not to share patents with others because they might gain a competitive advantage. We are taught not to share insider information or we will go to jail.

 

The early church had a very different view of sharing. Sharing was essential for the life and work of the first Christ centered community. As Luke tells us they had everything in common and shared whatever they had so that no one was in need. This sense of sharing was not learned in Kindergarten but at the cross. When they saw what Jesus had done for them, dying that they might be reconciled to God and one another, there was nothing they possessed that was not available to be shared. What mattered were not only the needs of the community, but of strangers as well. Sharing was not a lesson to be learned and then forgotten. It was at the heart of life itself.

 

Our task as 21^st Century believers is to figure out what this idea of sharing has to do with us. I believe the starting point in that discovery process is to remember that what we have is not ours. It is God's and God is sharing it with us that we might share it with others. We are given abilities, skills, families and wealth in order to carry out God's purposes in the world. If we adopt such a view, it will change our perspective so that we will gain some sharing clarity.

(How to; take a moment this week to do two things. First, look at your calendar. Then look at your check book. Ask yourself these two questions: How much of my time did I share? How much of my money did I share? Next ask, how can I share more of each? Do this for a couple of months and chances are you will begin to relearn what we were taught in the "sand pile of Sunday school"; the joy of sharing everything.)