The Importance of Sharing With Others

Ecclesiastes 5:13-17 NASB

13 There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner to his hurt. 14 When those riches were lost through a bad investment and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing to support him. 15 As he had come naked from his mother's womb, so will he return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand. 16 This also is a grievous evil--exactly as a man is born, thus will he die. So what is the advantage to him who toils for the wind? 17 Throughout his life he also eats in darkness with great vexation, sickness and anger.

 This Scripture passage brings to mind the movie "Click." Adam Sandler portrays a man who has a remote control for life. Anytime he encounters an unpleasant event, or has a deadline, he just punches the fast-forward button and speeds through it. At the end of the movie, he's an extremely accomplished and well respected man in business, but has missed out on so much.

When we are selfish with our time, money, and resources, we not only hurt others, but ourselves. It's like a dam that is never opened. Sure, there's a lot of water in the reserve where an ecosystem can thrive, but if the pressure against the dam is never relieved, serious problems will occur:

  1. The dam will be breached, flooding and damaging the surrounding area
  2. The ecosystem could die due to stagnation
  3. The dam could burst causing mass destruction to those downstream 
In our lives, the breached dam would affect those close to us: family, friends, business associates, etc. While the stagnated water supply would not only affect family and friends, but also anyone who came into direct contact with us. We would not be able to refresh anyone who needed help. The burst dam would go much further than the other two scenarios. Those affected wouldn't only be family and friends, but many who we never encounter directly. Examples are a Congressman who betrays the trust of his constituents, or the head of a corporation who misuses retirement funds.    

We must allow an outflow of our resources to others, whether it be our time with family, volunteering for less fortunate, or financially supporting a charity. If we don't give, we'll soon find ourselves alone in our own palaces.

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