November 25, 2019 – Click here to listen
We are rapidly approaching the end of another year. I don’t know about you, but it went fast for me. I heard an intriguing question the other day. It began with a lady relating how she and her husband at Christmas time had donated a well to some Africans who had no clean drinking water. This was done in lieu of giving their usual pickup truck full of presents to their kids, each other, and various loved ones.
She related how she vividly remembers the well and those poor Africans gathering around it and drinking fresh water right there in the midst of their own village. Then she asked a question. “Do you remember any of the gifts you have received or given at Christmas? I’m sure I’ve received and given some very nice gifts through the years, but candidly I couldn’t remember a single one of them.”
I’ve watched my grandkids tear into huge piles of gifts, and it seems like a frenetic race to see how many gifts they can open in the least amount of time. Plastic garbage bags are filled to the brim with torn wrapping paper after the carnage. They are experts at it. As I reflect on those days, I wonder if they will remember even one of those gifts after a few months have passed. Will their parents and grandparents remember those gifts like this lady and her husband whose gift to those poor Africans is burned into their memory for the rest of their lives.
Some might feel that they are sick of people asking them to give. I can relate because I get those requests nearly every day. It is especially irritating when those whom we reject get angry and treat you like some scrooge for not accommodating. They have no idea how much you are already giving and have given or that there is not enough money in the world to accommodate all of the needs. I learned this a few years ago when MSN decided to post a CNN business article describing me going from homeless to a multi-millionaire. I received 180,000 hits in the first fifteen minutes and the stupid thing ran for nearly two weeks. I had requests for money coming literally from all over the world. Somehow they got my email address and private phone number and it continued day after day. It was crazy and I even had women making wedding offers complete with nude pictures of themselves and it was so nerve wracking I had to go into seclusion for a while. Sadly, not all were just money grubbers but many of the needs were legitimate. Houses burned down, families destitute, children with cancer, homeless shelters nearly bankrupt, car accidents with children killed and badly injured and no insurance, people needing Bibles in their own language – The list was so long and so heartbreaking.
How do you give to so many causes? One person cannot . . . Basically, it comes down to praying and prioritizing and then giving to those that are the most important as best you know how. I guess we have to wonder if those discounts at retail stores on Black Friday or Cyber Monday are worth the fist fights that invariably occur at these events. The most important gift is love. We are supposed to love each other. Mother Teresa said one time – “Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.” Jesus understands this mindset and in fact authored it and told us of its importance. As you plan your giving and present buying this year give gifts of love that you and the recipient will remember for a lifetime. Remember, it’s Jesus Christ’s birthday that we celebrate; it’s not mine, or yours, or your kids . . .
Matt. 22:37
Jesus declared, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.