Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-12
“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?” (Isa. 58:6-7)
It’s hard to share. Any preschool teacher or parent will tell you that it’s difficult for a child to let other people play with their things. In the preschool setting, if a child walks into a play kitchen, the one who is already in there is told to share. If a child is playing with blocks and another wants to join, what happens? Someone steps in to make sure they share and cooperate.
But if we think about it, we lose that emphasis on sharing as we age. As we move into the independence of adulthood we go the opposite direction. High school students all have their own books and materials. As adults we have houses full of things that many of us don’t share. Can you imagine someone walking into your kitchen or garage uninvited and wanting to use your tools? Is there anyone there who insists that you share?
No. Our decision to share or not is internalized from lessons learned in preschool and God’s words to us about what it means to be faithful. The prophet Isaiah tells us that God wants us to share—our food, our homes, our clothes. This is the devotion that God would like to see.
There are so many ways we can share. We can invite people in our kitchens, our churches and our lives. We can offer people, especially those with addiction in their families, the nourishment and love that they need to get through each day.
Maybe there are days that we need to think of God as our teacher. The one who gently walks a new people into our lives and churches, leading them forward with a hand on their backs and saying to us, “Remember to share your things” or “Why don’t you welcome her into your game?” or “This is my child.”
Sue Washburn, Contributor
Remember in Prayer: Churches who are honestly seeking to answer the call to lift the yoke of addiction and set free their communities.
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