Presents Aren't the Problem

     Have you ever been asked an impossible question? My parents did exactly that to my siblings and I in December of my sophomore year...

Mom: "Don't you think it would be great to donate all our Christmas gift money to needy families?" 

Us:".................................................."

If we said no, we were terrible people. If we said yes, there would be no presents. Quite the dilemna (I don't care what spellcheck says. I'm telling you that I learned that word with an "n" as a child). 

     Social media is showing us many families making the choice to skip presents this Christmas, either to punish their ungrateful children, or to put the attention back onto Jesus. In either case, I think the presents are getting a bad wrap! (That pun just happened)

     The reason kids are ungrateful and Jesus' nativity sometimes gets bumped for the elf on the shelf is because we are failing to teach what true giving is.
                           
         "For God so loved....He GAVE His only Son" (John 3:16)

     Giving is a wonderful expression of love and putting other first. It's not always done perfectly, but why not try? As my children continue to grow, they are also growing into givers. They begin to look at gifts for siblings birthdays and have even become looser with their money when it comes to impacting missions through their giving. Are they perfect in this? No, but they're growing through these opportunities.

     So I could teach my kids that an absence of presents brings the greater presence of God, but that's not the reality. The greatest motivation to greater action is a changed heart. Let us work to change the hearts of our children all year long in how we bless them by our giving, whether during a birthday or just surprising them with a Sonic stop. Show your kids they are being blessed because God has given to you and through you. 

     For 15-year-old Heath, there wasn't much of a lesson learned. We donated the money and received so many presents from sympathetic family members that no real suffering occurred. And as for the families we helped, that was pretty much a one shot deal. So let's not make lessons on giving an occasional emphasis, but part of our families on a regular basis. And most importantly, let's remind them of Jesus and his great gift of forgiveness and eternal life!