The World of Grandpa Don

Sharing

A story was related as part of a Sunday Homily:

"A traveler decided she had time for some coffee and cookies while waiting for her flight to be announced. She made the purchase, gathered her carry-on luggage and managed to get to the only vacant table without spilling the coffee. She took a look around to find her rout to the boarding gate and when her gaze returned to her table she found that an old man had taken a seat directly across from her at the table.

He was rather shabby looking with very warn and poorly fitting clothes and with unkempt hair and beard. She resigned herself to his company, took a sip of coffee, reached to the middle of the table, opened her little cookie bag and took one out. As she took a bite, the man reached over and took a cookie. Surprised, but not wanting to create a disturbance, she pretended not to notice.

However, each time she took one of her cookies, her unwelcome guest did the same. She was irritated about his arrogance but reasoned that he must be very hungry. A couple times her eye caught his and he managed a faint smile. Finally, there was only one cookie left. The man reached over, broke it in half and ate his half, nodded a slight smile and left. She was furious but kept it to herself.

Suddenly, her flight was called. She opened her bag to get her ticket and found, ... the unopened bag of cookies  she had put there when she bought them."

The story prompted me to ponder, (as it was meant to) "Who's cookies are they anyway?" How often do we reluctantly share what we think is ours? 

The world and everything in it is a gift of God. We use natural resources for our existence and comfort. We have been given intelligence to develop technology for the betterment of mankind. There are enough resources for everyone, ... if they are shared.  It is called "Stewardship". We are entrusted with resources and expected to preserve and multiply them for the betterment of the resource itself and the betterment of those who benefit from them. Then we return them to their owner, God.

The money we earn is one part of these gifts because ultimately, money is only a bartering tool for our talents and labor. We trade our abilities for money, so giving money to charity is a way of sharing our talents. We can also donate our time and abilities directly as well. Either way we are sharing ourselves with others. 

So, share the cookies. They are not ours anyway.

Don Plefka
08/05/2002