“Mine!” “Mine!” “Mine!”

Are you able to immediately recall this chorus of “mines” from a comical scene in the animated movie “Finding Nemo”? Nemo finds himself stranded briefly on a dock, engaged in conversation with a pair of pelicans. Slowly, one by one seagulls begin to spy little Nemo laying on the boards under a hot sun. As they line up observing their potential meal, Nemo is being instructed by his new pelican friend in a plan of protection and escape. In an attempt to not lose out on a fresh lunch, the seagulls swoop in trying to grab Nemo, loudly chirping “mine, mine….” until the great escape thwarts all attempts to enjoy little Nemo for lunch.

This morning, in the quiet at the beginning of my morning, which begins with pouring a mug of coffee, putting out seed for the birds, and then making my way to the living room where I sit to enjoy time reading, the ordinary stillness I’m accustomed to enjoying was interrupted by a conversation out my window that sounded familiar to “mine, mine, mine”. I got up to investigate its source and smiled to myself as I was soon entertained by a trio of crows walking around the lawn. In the middle, a lucky bird was grasping a good sized piece of bread or cracker in his beak, while two other crows–one on each side–kept pace with his attempts to escape either sharing or basking in the sorrow of being robbed of his breakfast. Their conversation was quite lively, and didn’t last very long when soon, all three flew off to a neighbor’s nearby pine tree. I don’t know the outcome of their brief exchange. I can imagine two scenarios. One, the lucky guy holding the bread enjoyed his “find” or two, a pair of potential robbers may have been victorious. Either way, their early morning antics reminded me of living a life of charity, generosity, or selfishness. Inside the Christian church, we call this way of life “open handed living”, described as believers recognizing that all resources ultimately belong to God and are to be used for His glory and the benefit of others. In summary, biblical teaching on being “open handed” calls believers to a lifestyle of generosity, compassion and selflessness. (source BibleHub.com)

So, how does living this way look? In the broad sense of being a person of generosity, we acknowledge that everything we have been given or own comes from God. By being alert to the needs of people in our families, workplace, churches, and community, we are able to participate in local opportunities to help by being a source of meeting those needs. One doesn’t have to travel far to give assistance to another person whether it’s monetary or a portion of our time to perform an act of kindness. The beauty of serving others is that the amount of money spent or the length of time in action does not matter. What’s important is that we don’t clench our hands tightly, being unwilling to share our resources.

My dad told me of a time in his childhood when a neighboring family had lost their mother. It didn’t take long for the two young children from the widower’s small farm to figure out if they lingered long enough around dinner time at the Jewell farm, maybe they’d get lucky to be invited to eat a good meal. This was during depression years when my grandpa struggled, working from dawn to sunset to scrape out a living to feed hungry bellies around the table. As dad unfolded details of the story, he recalled that his dad grumbled to grandma, “Sadie, I have a hard enough time feeding our growing family. I can’t manage two more mouths.”

In her quiet demeanor–and seldom speaking back to her husband–dad noted that she merely replied “Clarence, those children are hungry.” No further action was required other than finding room at the table for them. Never mind the scarcity of abundant food or the utensils to eat from. In fact, there weren’t enough cups for dad and his siblings to drink milk. Dad and his sister Helen shared a cup under their “oath–you drink from this side and I’ll drink from my side.”

Open handed living has its roots in the early Christian church. A beautiful picture of communal living is described in Acts 2: 44-45. “And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.”  It’s obvious we have two examples of generosity here. One, daily activities included sharing meals, etc. Two, extended and greater sacrificial living is exemplified with selling property in order to assist others. This doesn’t mean God is “requiring” us to imitate the latter action of the early church. Rather, both serve as practical examples of our ability to be generous no matter the size of our portfolios.

In our community, we don’t have to look very far to find ways to help our neighbors. Our very own “Family Impact Center” and “The Torch” are two of the best non profit organizations serving the needs of families in our county. They can’t do their work alone; they need you and me partnering with them to donate food and offer volunteer time working in their programs. Donations small to large are welcome whether it’s a check or goods you purchase and drop off to them.

Summer is drawing to a close which means our children will be returning to classrooms. Fortunately, our district provided meals for our community’s kids during summer’s break. Now, “Back to School” drives are popping up which will help with classroom supplies. This kind of “open handed living” helps to ensure that our youngsters will be given ample opportunities to be healthy and successful!

In further retrospect, what else can we learn from little Nemo floundering under a hot sun under devious eyes of sea gulls waiting for a chance to pounce? I think we can admit that too many of us are on the sidelines of merely seeing a need and clenching our hands tightly to hold onto our stuff or acknowledge the real needs that are evident around us every day. In that posture we can choose to remain selfless or shift our attitudes and resources pursuing this simple question: “How can I help?” Just think, if we changed the chorus of “mine, mine, mine” to “yours, yours, yours”…..THAT would be a beautiful melody!