GRADATIONS OF GIVING AND SHARING

GRADATIONS OF GIVING AND SHARING

Thursday, March 17, 2011

By Rev. Dr. Larry Delano Coleman
A. INDEX:
1. Matthew 5:42—Share with beggars and borrowers
2. Matthew 13:44—share no precious information. Purchase first!
3. Matthew 25:10—Don’t share with a foolish virgin; it may imperil you
4. Matthew 7:6—Beware of with whom you share sacred pearls of wisdom
5. Luke 10:25-37—merciful and compassionate sharing is true religion
6. Matthew 15:21-28—Christ’s crumbs are a shared blessing!
7. Matthew 10:5-15—Freely you have received, freely share, if worthy
8. Luke 6:38—Share and it will be shared with you in good measure!
9. Matthew 25:41-46—Sharing with one of “the least of these” is salvific.
10. 1 John 3:17—Share your excess with a needy brother or sister
11. Matthew 21:33-41—Treachery can pervert sharing and merit reprisal
12. John 15:12-13--Ultimate sharing; “Lay down his life for his friends”

B. TREATMENT:

I could not find, nor do I recall where, in the gospels, Jesus Christ specifically used the word “share” or “sharing;” or, for that matter, if he ever used either word.

Even so, “sharing,” as we understand it, was his lifelong mission and purpose. It was what he taught, encouraged, and commanded wherever we went on Earth.
Instead of “sharing,” the verb “giving,” or a derivative, appears to be used instead throughout the gospels.

“Money” was meant, primarily, then as well as now. But, not only money was to be shared or given. Also included was love, faith, and hope. Provisions like food, water, clothing, and visiting the sick or the imprisoned, were also to be shared or given.

Jesus also understood the risk of indiscriminate sharing with the unworthy. He, therefore, counseled discernment and circumspection even upon his disciples.
There are, it appears, gradations of “giving” or “sharing” that he recognized and acknowledged, which depend upon time and circumstances. These, too, are treated.

C. APPLICATIONS

1. Matthew 5:42 says, Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Here, both beggars and borrowers are to be paid by you.

2. Matthew 13:44 says:

New International Version (©1984)
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

Here, there was no precious info sharing at all, before the field was purchased.

3. Matthew 25:1-10 says:

The Parable of the Ten Virgins
1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

Here, the wise virgins did not share with the foolish virgins.

4. Matthew 7:6 says:

New International Version (©1984)
"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.


Dogs don’t appreciate sacred things and pigs don’t eat pearls, so use discretion.

5. Luke 10:25-37 says: The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25(AS) And behold, a(AT) lawyer stood up to(AU) put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to(AV) inherit eternal life?" 26He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?" 27And he answered,(AW) "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and(AX) your neighbor as yourself." 28And he said to him, "You have answered correctly;(AY) do this, and you will live."
29But he,(AZ) desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" 30Jesus replied, "A man(BA) was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a(BB) priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise(BC) a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a(BD) Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34He went to him and(BE) bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35And the next day he took out two(BF) denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' 36Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" 37He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise."

Here, merciful and compassionate sharing trumps religion; is true religion

6. Matthew 15: 21-28 says:

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Here, Christ blesses the believing Canaanite woman, content with his “crumbs”.

7. Matthew 10:5-15 says

5These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ 8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,b drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; 10take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.
11“Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. 12As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. 15I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. 16I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

Here the message is direct: “Freely you have received, freely give”, if worthy.

8. Luke 6:38 says:

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

Here, the promise is reciprocal, intuitive and endearing “Give, and it will be given to you.”

9. Matthew 25:41-46 says:

Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44“Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45“Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46“These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Here, whatever one does not do to “one of the least of these” is the salvific test.
This test very much echoes one of John’s epistles:

10. 1 John 3:17: If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion--how can God's love be in that person?

Share you excess with the needy brother and sister.

11. Matthew 21:33-41 says:

"Listen to another illustration. A landowner planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, made a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to vineyard workers and went on a trip. 34"When the grapes were getting ripe, he sent his servants to the workers to collect his share of the produce. 35The workers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned a third to death. 36So the landowner sent more servants. But the workers treated them the same way. 37"Finally, he sent his son to them. He thought, 'They will respect my son.' 38"When the workers saw his son, they said to one another, 'This is the heir. Let's kill him and get his inheritance.' 39So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40"Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those workers?" 41They answered, "He will destroy those evil people. Then he will lease the vineyard to other workers who will give him his share of the produce when it is ready."
Here, we have treachery perverting and corrupting sharing, warranting retribution.

12. John 15:12-13 says:

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
This is ultimate sharing, the highest exemplification of love, sharing one’s very life.

D. CONCLUSION

There may be other kinds of sharing in the gospels,not mentioned herein, and in the Bible, itself. But these few examples as taught by Jesus are of undoubted reliability.

Get your “but” out of here!

Get your “but” out of here!

By Rev. Dr. Larry Delano Coleman

Ironically, Biblical interpretation can lead to many disputes.

My maternal uncle and I had one a few weeks ago on the question of original sin and the nature of man. So, as usual, we opened the Bible to settle the question. Of course, the Bible, itself, created the question!

The scripture, Gen. 1:31 plainly says—

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”

"The phrase, ‘All that he had made’ includes man, necessarily, Uncle.” I said. “That is because God also made man.” I then referred him to this scripture:

So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
Gen.1:27.

“So, Uncle, ‘Man,’ being part of the ‘all he had made’ is also ‘very good,’ not inherently bad, evil or sinful.” I insisted.

“But…” intoned my uncle.

“Ain’t no ‘but’ in there, nowhere, Uncle! So, get your ‘but’ out of here!” I said, before I realized what I had said. The pun: but/butt had slipped out.

I had been speaking over the telephone to my mother’s brother.
We, my siblings and I, simply didn’t use that manner of speaking to older relatives. Even though I was 59, at the time, myself, when that involuntary pun slipped out of my mouth, I immediately apologized. We’d been raised better than that by both parents, and my uncle knew it!

He chuckled, himself, at my startling utterance, and went on to agree with it, in spite of himself. The double entendre “butt” and “but” was so sudden, and so stunning, you couldn’t help but laugh. It was like a “discovered check” on the chess board! In this case, it was a discovered checkmate!

So went our good-natured repartee on original sin, and the alleged “fall” of man. It was one of many theological discussions between us. Most of the time, he got me. Today, I’d turned the tables.

My uncle and I were always discussing theological questions over the telephone, since we lived 250 miles apart. I knew my uncle’s ways, well. He was Mississippi-ole school Baptist, whose daddy and grand-daddy had been Mississippi- ole school Baptist preachers.

On one previous occasion, he had told me that Genesis did not accurately describe “the beginning.” But, the book of John did. That one floored me. So, we turned to that book. Sure enough, it said:

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 1:1-5. That reference had, frankly, surprised me, and left me slightly exasperated. So, not desiring to get lambasted yet again with such a scriptural hay-maker, I had cut my uncle off, unwisely and imprudently, to my detriment.

I have since inwardly resolved to never do that again!

Our most recent “debate” concerned itself with whether Peter had been “too proud to pray” for the former Samaritan mystic/sorcerer, Simon, who had become wealthy through his sorcery?

Simon, along with many other Samaritans, had been undergone conversion and baptism by Phillip. Later, after his conversion and baptism, Simon had been sternly rebuked by Peter, of all people, (considering Peter’s multiple rebukes and later forgiveness by Jesus) after his conversion to “The Way.” Simon had offered to pay Peter for knowledge of the Holy Ghost and for the gift of healing, by the laying on of hands, in Acts 8:14-25, after seeing Peter and John lay hands upon and heal worshippers, who received the Holy Ghost.

After his rebuke, Simon had asked Peter to pray for him, so he might avoid experiencing the scourges in Peter’s rebuke. Peter ignored his request for prayer and went on with his business as though Simon didn’t exist.

I argued that Peter was wrong for refusing to pray for Simon, after his rebuke. My uncle, naturally, took the orthodox view, insisting that Peter had done nothing wrong, because Simon’s heart was not right with God. I told my uncle the scripture didn’t mention anything about the rightness of Simon’s heart. Besides, 2 Chr. 25:2, doesn’t require that your heart be right, as long as you do what is right in the sight of God. That scripture says: “And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart.”

Well, there we left it in Jesus’ name, till our next theological visit.

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