What Are You Going to Give for Christmas?

I never cease to be amazed by the shopping frenzy the day after Thanksgiving. The thought of getting up early to stand in line for hours in cold weather waiting for the doors of a store to open just seems so foreign to me. Maybe it's because I am a guy, or maybe it's because there isn't anything I want that badly. This is the season of gift giving and the merchants are praying we fall into the spell of not only greed, but also generosity.

The average American household will spend $471.00 on gifts during the next few weeks. That is up $22.00 from last year. The amounts tick upwards according to geographical location and household income, which makes sense. This is all reported by the research group call The Conference Board.

Giving, or charity as it is sometimes called, is the hallmark of Christianity. God gave His Son, and we give out of appreciation for His great gift to us. Now if we are honest, sometimes our giving at Christmas is out of duty or guilt. I think most of us have received gifts that have been given out of these motivations as well and it is not so enjoyable. Yet, giving gifts and especially giving gifts to the Lord should come from a heart of love and appreciation.

Mark tells us in chapter 12:41-44 that Jesus is very interested in our giving patterns.

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offering was put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything-all she had to live on."

There are words of Jesus that give us comfort and there are others that make us feel uneasy. Just the very fact that Jesus sat down to watch the people give causes me to come face to face with the reality of his knowledge of my giving. It was such an important part of spiritual development that he called his disciples over so that he could teach them what real giving looks like. It is convicting to know that there is a difference between tax-deduction giving and Kingdom giving.

C.S. Lewis wrote "If our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc, is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot because our charitable expenditure excludes them."

Jesus would agree with Mr. Lewis. Jesus was not impressed with the large gift that came from the wealthy because they had it to give. It was not going to impact the wealthy person’s life style at all-there was more where that came from. On the other hand, Jesus was greatly impressed with the poor widow who had nothing and yet gave away her last cent. It is not the size of the gift that God takes notice of, it's the heart!

I would not consider myself a legalist because I feel that I was set free of those religious structures years ago. However, I am truly amazed at how few followers of Jesus follow Jesus in the area of giving. So many are concerned that they give a 15% gratuity to their food server, but think of giving nothing to the Lord and his work. I can also hear the Lord say, "You habitually give 15% to your server and yet a 10% tithe is to much for me?" Giving to the Lord is not about legalism, it is about thanksgiving, love, appreciation, compassion and obedience.

Maybe you have convinced yourself that giving is not an important issue with the Lord. I think the words of Jesus should tell you otherwise. As Jesus began to teach his disciples about giving he used the words, "I tell you the truth" or "I solemnly declare to you" which tells that what he is about to say is of extreme importance. When we meet the Lord face to face, giving will be one of the subjects that come up.

People often give to be noticed, as indicated by this story in Mark. People will give gifts at Christmas to impress others and to bring attention to themselves. Let me gently remind you again, the Trinity notices what you give, and take note of what is in your heart.

This season, give a gift from your heart to God! You can give to your church, to help the poor in your city, or even to Eternity Minded Ministries. The issue is not where you give the gift, but that you have given a gift and continue to give.

"Give and it shall be given"

Dan

P.S. Lest you feel sorry for the widow, remember, God was watching her and he takes care of His children!

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