Do I Have to Share, Mommy?

Have you ever heard those words? "Do I have to share, Mommy?" I have heard them countless times in numerous situations, but I must say they don't bother me anymore. There is a reason for this, of which the credit belongs to the Ezzo's - years ago when our first two children were very young, I heard what the Ezzo's had to say about sharing and it made me laugh out loud until I tried it and found it worked.

The basic premise of their theory is this - If you force your children to share with one another they will resent it. If you tell your children that they do not have to share with one another, but it is their choice, for the majority of the time they will choose to share out of their own free will and enjoy it. Out of our five children, we have some who share so easily that I have to stop them from being so generous - otherwise there would be nothing left for themselves. Then, we have those who have to be reminded that sharing is a kind thing to do. Either way, when they have acquired something special - if we offer them the choice of whether they want to be generous by their own choosing, they will usually choose to share.

There is an important note that needs to be added onto this though - I believe that, as parents, it is our job to be modeling sharing for our children. We need to be sure we are living out our lives in such a way, that they see we want to be found sharing and being generous too. It is good to give our children reasons that sharing will benefit them in the bigger picture of life, for example in Proverbs 22:9 it says, "A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor." It may be hard for younger ones to know what it means to be blessed - but it shouldn't be too hard to think of examples to share with them...the saying, "Pay it forward" really works in all aspects of life.

There is also a beautiful verse that encourages us, as well as our children, found in Hebrews 13:16, "Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." The use of the word sacrifice tells me that it may stretch me, or our children, a bit to do it - but if God is pleased then we can be sure there is a blessing that will be returned...probably pressed down, shaken together and running over. We love and serve a God who cannot be out given...He is generous to all who are found faithful following His ways.