{"id":253,"date":"2010-05-31T08:00:08","date_gmt":"2010-05-31T08:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thinplaces\/2010\/05\/the-golden-rule-and-my-squabbling-children.html"},"modified":"2010-05-31T08:00:08","modified_gmt":"2010-05-31T08:00:08","slug":"the-golden-rule-and-my-squabbling-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/2010\/05\/the-golden-rule-and-my-squabbling-children.html","title":{"rendered":"The Golden Rule and My Squabbling Children"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

“No! William! I’m having it!”<\/p>\n

It’s a fairly common refrain in our house. William has
\nsomething. Penny grabs it. William cries and grabs it back. Penny reprimands. I
\nintervene.<\/p>\n

I wrote a few weeks back about “ Don’t Grab<\/a>,” but around the
\nsame time I was struck by the relevance of another word I use all day long with
\nmy children: Share. It’s a basic concept, of course, but it’s about as hard for
\nme as it is for Penny and William.<\/p>\n

Jesus said, “Do to others as you would have them do to
\nyou” (Luke 6:31)<\/a>. Honestly, I hadn’t given this “Golden” rule much thought
\nuntil recently. I’m a Christian, generally considered a nice person, so I assumed
\nthat “doing unto others” came naturally to me. But I am
\noften tempted to hold back from others what I would want for myself.<\/p>\n

It’s easiest for me to explain what I mean when it comes to
\nwriting. As I’ve had opportunities to write more and make contacts with writers
\nand publications, I’ve found myself reluctant to share what I’ve been given
\nwith writers who are doing similar things but haven’t yet been connected in the
\nsame way. I find myself worried that if I recommend that someone read a blog,
\nor a book, or an article by another up-and-coming writer, I might just watch as
\nmy own success gets surpassed by someone else. Give and take is relatively
\neasy. I’m pretty generous when it comes to things I’m not worried about losing.
\nGiving to others what I want when I don’t have it myself… that’s a lot harder.<\/p>\n

But I think that’s what Jesus was getting at. Even if you
\ndon’t have it yourself, give it away. Even if your resources seem limited, act
\nas though you have an abundance. Even if you are worried or tired or jealous–share.\n<\/p>\n

I try to remember what I tell Penny and William. That when I’m
\ntempted to stomp my feet and yell, “No! I’m having it!” instead I can say, “Would
\nyou like a turn?” And trust that sharing leads to blessing all around. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“No! William! I’m having it!” It’s a fairly common refrain in our house. William has something. Penny grabs it. William cries and grabs it back. Penny reprimands. I intervene. 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Two major life experiences have shaped her writing and her faith\u00e2\u20ac\u201dcaring for her mother-in-law as she battled cancer and welcoming her daughter Penny into the world after she was diagnosed at birth with Down syndrome. Both experiences expanded and enriched her understanding of what it means to be human and to receive each and every person as a gift.\u00c2\u00a0 A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, she is the author of Penelope Ayers: A Memoir, and the forthcoming A Good and Perfect Gift (Bethany House). Her essays have appeared in First Things, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Christian Century, ChristianityToday.com, and Bloom, among other online venues.","sameAs":["http:\/\/amyjuliabecker.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/author\/amyjuliabecker"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}