Choosing Friendship Over Stuff

Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

“Whoa, what?” Avery squealed as she started jumping up and down. Lights flashed on her arcade game, announcing that she had just won the five hundred-ticket jackpot. Her shouts of “I won, I won!” could be heard throughout the venue as she did a little dance of excitement.

Avery and Josie were at the arcade to celebrate Josie’s birthday. As Josie exited the bathroom, she saw Avery dancing. She knew something awesome had happened. “What’s going on? What did you win?” Josie asked as she reached Avery’s side. When Avery told her, Josie said, “That’s great! Let’s go shopping!”

Five hundred tickets was more than double what either Josie or Avery had already earned. As they walked around the store, Avery could tell Josie was trying hard to be happy for her but was struggling. The item Josie wanted was two hundred points more than she had to spend, and it was hard to find something within her point total. Avery quietly double-checked her own point total and then picked out something that left two hundred points to share with Josie.

“Here, Josie,” Avery said as she handed the extra points to Josie.

“Really? Thank you!” Josie gave Avery a hug.

“Of course. It’s your birthday. Happy birthday, friend.”

When we win a prize or receive something no one else has, it feels good, doesn’t it? And it’s normal that our first instinct is to keep it for ourselves. But choosing to share our unexpected blessing with a friend is a beautiful example of what Paul is talking about in Colossians when he tells us to do everything we do in the name of Jesus. God asks us to make our words and actions count for him—to reveal his love for the world, and to thank him for blessing us with good things by sharing them with others.

Things to Think About

• Think of a time when someone shared their unexpected blessing with you. How did that change your day? How did you react?
• How has God blessed you in ways you could share with others?

DAILY ACT OF FRIENDSHIP

Choose to share one of your blessings with a friend.