is sharing overrated?

I had an interesting conversation with my daughter jane
this morning-
well, she’s 2, so pretty much all of our conversations are interesting, but this one had to do with sharing.
Janie is a part of a play group that meets each week and learns about numbers. there are 5 kids in the group, and each week the group meets in the home of one of the families.
today the meeting was at our house.

I was leaving for work, and Janie was playing in her room,
and I asked her,
“are you going to have play group today?”
“yes!”
“is it going to be at our house?”
“yes!”
“are you going to share your toys?”
“yes!”
“oh- that’s very nice!
so you’re going to let Scottie play with your trains?”
“no!”
“but I thought you were going to share!
can Scottie play with your dollhouse?”
“no!”

and all of this brought up something
that I’ve been thinking about for a long time-
“what is it important to teach your kid to share?”
is sharing overrated?

I’ve also been thinking about Janie being an only child-
but whenever I bring that up, people freak out-
“WHAT?! she’ll turn out weird!”
(like attention from your parents makes you weird…)
“well- as long as she learns to share!”

what’s so big about parents teaching their kids to share?
I see parents struggling with their kids all the time,
trying to get them to share.
we will be somewhere,
and some kid is hogging all of the toys at some store
and the dad says
“Johnny! you have to share with that little girl!”
but he doesn’t, and we find another toy-
and everyone is happy, but no one shared.
in families with multiple children,
do they learn to share,
or do they all just eventually get their own stuff
that doesn’t need to be shared?

it seems that is the goal of all of us-
to be in a position where I no longer need to share-
to be in a position where I have my own:
my own car,
my own house,
my own yard,
my own toys!

if generations of parents had multiple children
for the purpose of teaching the first one to share,
then the world must be filled with people that share!
but its not.

if parents for generations have been drilling
the value of sharing into their children’s minds,
then no one would be left without;
but its not like that-

in fact, its just the opposite!
the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer,
and those with much do not share with those who have little.
their parents failed.

20% of the planet uses 80% of its resources.
we’re in the 20%, and we don’t share.
our parents failed!

the really crazy thing is,
that the 20% is largely America and Europe;
places that have been built by Christians-
and the core of the scriptures is sharing!
the Old Testament farmers
had to leave the corners of their field un-harvested-
just so that they could share!
and the most striking feature of the early church
wasn’t necessarily what they believed, but how they acted-
they shared!
acts 2 tells us that,
“all the believers were together
and had everything in common.
selling their possessions and goods,
they gave to anyone as he had need.”
it was their sharing that made them radical-
and it was their Savior that taught them to share.

so- if anyone ought to be bothered
that 80% of the globe lives on 20% of its resources,
it ought to be the believers.

so what do we believe about sharing?
really?

is it important to teach this value to children?
are they seeing this value lived out in our lives?
do our words say that sharing is important?
do our actions say that its overrated?
maybe we are just like the children in the toy store
hogging all the toys
and we need to heed the voice of our Father
reminding us to share.

I hope that jane does learn to share-
but not just toys-
I hope she leads the world in sharing-
now I’ve got to model it for her!
hopefully I don’t throw a fit
like the little boys at the toy store!

by the way, Deanna called
and said that Janie kindly
shared her toys with her friends from playgroup!
she’s already a worldchanger!

“isaiah 58:10:
"if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail."