“Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” (Ephesians 4:28)
In his letters to the church in Ephesus and to Timothy, the apostle Paul addresses the topic of sharing. In 1 Timothy 6:18, he exhorts affluent people “to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share”. In Ephesians 4, he addresses people who have come to faith and now have to change their lifestyle accordingly. People who used to steal, are exhorted to do “honest work” and so to provide for themselves and their relatives. But Paul goes one step further: it is also good to have something to share with anyone in need.
People in need probably won’t be able to pay us back. So whatever we give them, is a “loss” for us. But Paul sheds a different light on sharing. He says that people who are generous, are “storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:19). Jesus says something similar in Matthew 6:3-4 “When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Are you in the position to share with people in need? And do you actually share with people in need?