The Joy of Giving Gifts
I recently overheard a woman say that her family doesn't give each other gifts at Christmas, instead they all donate that money to charities. It sounds great on paper, but I wish you could have heard her expression as she said it. It was completely monotone, without any passion or even a smile. It sounded like an obligation that someone had forced on her, and it also sounded like she wasn't looking forward to Christmas morning at all.
As Christians, we're often down on gift giving, and rightly so. Our culture is highly materialistic, one of its greatest problems. It reaches a new level at Christmastime, when a lot of people have no need for baby Jesus because they're so focused on getting the latest toy, gadget or piece of clothing. I will always encourage myself and others to remember to spirit of Christmas and the love of God and give as much as they can to others during this time of year.
However, I think that something is missing when we just give gifts to strangers in charities and miss out on the joy of giving to our families. There's a special kind of love shown when you can find just the right gift for the different members of your family that has nothing to do with the material gift itself. Picking out the right gift for your wife shows that you have been listening to her and understand her wants and needs. Picking out the right gifts for your kids show them that they are valued by you in a different and special way than the normal hugs and affirmations. Giving and receiving gifts is actually one of Gary Chapman's five love languages in his famous book.
Now please don't take this idea to the extreme. I'm not saying we should spoil our kids or our spouses with a lot of expensive presents. I'm not saying we shouldn't focus on Jesus on Christmas Day. I'm not saying we shouldn't give our money and time to those less fortunate than ourselves. If we're not doing those things, we are becoming a part of this materialistic culture. All I'm saying is that giving to our loved ones is a special way to show love, and a Christmas morning without any gifts just isn't quite the same.
As Christians, we're often down on gift giving, and rightly so. Our culture is highly materialistic, one of its greatest problems. It reaches a new level at Christmastime, when a lot of people have no need for baby Jesus because they're so focused on getting the latest toy, gadget or piece of clothing. I will always encourage myself and others to remember to spirit of Christmas and the love of God and give as much as they can to others during this time of year.
However, I think that something is missing when we just give gifts to strangers in charities and miss out on the joy of giving to our families. There's a special kind of love shown when you can find just the right gift for the different members of your family that has nothing to do with the material gift itself. Picking out the right gift for your wife shows that you have been listening to her and understand her wants and needs. Picking out the right gifts for your kids show them that they are valued by you in a different and special way than the normal hugs and affirmations. Giving and receiving gifts is actually one of Gary Chapman's five love languages in his famous book.
Now please don't take this idea to the extreme. I'm not saying we should spoil our kids or our spouses with a lot of expensive presents. I'm not saying we shouldn't focus on Jesus on Christmas Day. I'm not saying we shouldn't give our money and time to those less fortunate than ourselves. If we're not doing those things, we are becoming a part of this materialistic culture. All I'm saying is that giving to our loved ones is a special way to show love, and a Christmas morning without any gifts just isn't quite the same.
posted by Editor at 6:52 PM
4 Comments:
This is an excellent article with a very important message - well done. I am surprised there are no other comments.
My husband and I have become like that woman. We stopped giving gifts to get out of the Christmas ratrace and bring more simplicity to our lives and to save money. After reading your blog I have to say that Christmas is not a fun time for us anymore. We didn't even put up a Christas tree this year. Yes, we are giving to charities instead and the charities do have a great need at this time of year. But we need the joy of Christmas back in our hearts. The family that God has blessed us with deserve more than we are giving. Thank you for this message. I, for one, needed it.
I thnk what that lady, and the other Coment, are missing, is the personal connection with the gift. Giving to a charity is almost totally devoid of feeling. What does the Bible say to do ? "Give TO HIM WHO ASKS OF YOU." It doesn't say "give to a non-profit organisation that asks of you" !
My happiest Christmas was last year, when our whole family gave a few boughten gifts but mostly gave home-made gifts.
If Christians realy want to "put Christ back in Christmas", they need to get personal like God did.
i totally agree with u.. thanks for opening my mind but my husband loves gadget so much... and it costs too much for me as it costs hundreds to thousands dollars. so what am i supposed to do?
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