The church that I attend has a program in which they are asking the congregation to provide Christmas for many needy families in the community. My wife and I participated and when I looked at the card that gave details of our family, I was stunned by the fact that this single mother had seven kids.
Egad! I couldn’t help but wonder why in the world she didn’t learn what kept making her belly swell up every nine months or so and take some action to slow this phenomenon down a little.
One third of the kids in this country don’t graduate from high school. I saw an interview with a 16 year old girl who’d dropped out and when asked how she was going to get by without even a high school education, she quickly responded that her grandmama told her she could sign up for welfare and food stamps and live in public housing. Further she could get a check for each child she had out of wedlock. That was her plan as outlined by her third generational role model grandmother.
We had a discussion in our Sunday school class about the needy family Christmas program. Some of the fellows seemed to balk at the idea of giving their hard earned money to those who won’t work and instead choose to just milk the system and free load off the taxpayers.
One of the guys made a poignant comment that resonated with me. He was familiar with someone who was legendary for her giving spirit and he quoted her as saying that it is easy for her to deal with such problems. She said she gives to the needy and the greedy without bias.
Hmmm… I saw a tee shirt one time that stated: Kill ’em all – Let God sort ’em out!” Her motto seemed to be: Give to ’em all and let God sort ’em out!” I think I know which shirt Jesus might wear… Especially in light of the fact that it is the kids who receive the Christmas gifts and not the parents or guardians.
My wife called our Christmas family mother and asked her what kind of presents the children would like. She responded that if we could get them socks and pajamas they would be thrilled.
Socks and pajamas for Christmas? My wife wasn’t about to just get these kids socks and pajamas and she insisted upon knowing what kind of toys she could buy for each one of them. The mother responded that the youngest of the lot, a little girl, wanted a doll; the next a baseball glove, a backpack, and so forth right up the line.
When she visited the local store to purchase the gifts, the young lady that was assisting her with finding presents for all of these kids inquired if she was buying them through a church program for the needy. My wife was taken somewhat aback that she could ascertain that without her telling her anything about it, but she responded affirmatively.
The sales assistant kind of teared up and said that is how she used to get her Christmas, and then hesitantly stammered, “When…when my mama was “incarcerated”.
She looked at my wife with hurt in her eyes and said she couldn’t begin to tell her how much it meant to her to receive a Christmas present from that program. She said that was the only Christmas she ever received for many years.
What to make of this?
No doubt there are the needy and the greedy in our country. It was created by a crazy welfare-state system of socialism gone awry that our president wants to perpetuate. But this issue is not about Obama or Pelosi, or Harry Reid, or even the poor people themselves who have been taught for three generations that work is unnecessary in our society and that there is no such thing as moral values; it’s about providing a ray of light and hope to some little kids at Christmas time in the name of Jesus Christ.
These little scutters aren’t greedy, they are needy. Hopefully at least some of them will get a job like the young gal in the toy store and become vibrant members of our soiciety.
As for those of us who choose to participate in these programs, well we might come a little closer to understanding what the true message of Christmas and giving in the name of Jesus Christ is all about.
I’m sure that as usual I will get a ton of letters from those who think otherwise, but as for my wife and me, it is our great pleasure to be in a position whereby we can help some of these little kids, and it is my prayer that their bondage may somehow be broken and their kids won’t have to be put in this situation.
And as that great philosopher Forrest Gump used to say, “And that’s all I got to say about that”.
Have a great day today and please join me in thanking our loving Savior, our great-and-mighty-God-almighty for the blessings He has bestowed upon us.
2 Cor. 9:7
You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”