A Good Giver

Jesus says to us, Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. (Matthew 25:40)

If I want to worship God, to show love for God and gratitude to God, I have to find opportunities to give to folks who can’t pay me back. To do things for people I wouldn’t ordinarily be inclined to do things for. To serve folks who other people don’t want to serve. To give in ways that won’t garner recognition for me.

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “If you’re just nice to people who are nice to you, what are you doing that’s different from others? The pagans do that.” (Matthew 5:46-47) Of course, we all know it’s true.

What is our holiday gift exchange about? I would submit to you that there is something fundamentally wrong with feeling an obligation to give gifts to people when we can’t think of anything they need or want. If you don’t know what to get, don’t get anything.

Give to somebody who could actually benefit, and give in honor of the person who already has everything. Why in the world would you want to give one more thing to someone who has to say, “Oh, well, thank you. You really shouldn’t have.”

You know he really means it, too. You really shouldn’t have. It’s just stupid. We do this every year, many of us more than once a year. There are birthdays, too. And, what are we going to do for their anniversary?

I have received so many stupid gifts over the years and felt obliged to hang onto them for a little while, just in case the giver asks. Eventually, we pass these things on to the local rescue mission or another charitable receiver like Salvation Army. Somebody needs to get the benefit out of the gift.

We waste so much time, energy and money when there are real needs of real people with real pain that we could address. We could do something for someone who can’t pay us back. It’s not a sin to give Christmas presents, but remember whose birthday it is, would you? Give your gifts to Jesus. You’ll find His address when you find somebody who can’t pay you back.

I’m not saying you can’t give to your relatives. If you have relatives, like some of my relatives, they probably have needs and can’t pay you back. Generally, these aren’t the relatives I like to give to. I don’t really enjoy giving to relatives who have made stupid decisions with their money as much as I enjoy giving to the nice ones who like to give to me.

It’s fine to give party favors to all the guests, but remember whose birthday it is. What pleases Jesus?

The birthday gifts should go to the birthday boy. Make sure the focus of your celebration is the worship of God and that it’s not monetary; most importantly, make the celebration involve the way you serve others.

When working with the children at the Ranch, there are times when I wonder, “Why am I doing this? I don’t think these kids appreciate me the way they should.”

Have you ever unselfishly set out to do something for the glory of God? You are determined to do something for somebody who can’t pay you back. Then, you get hurt, and maybe even angry, that the recipient doesn’t seem as grateful as they should be. Has this ever happened to you?

It happens to me sometimes. Here I am knocking myself out in order to do something for somebody who clearly does not deserve it, but I’m doing this “as unto the Lord.” That was the original theory, but somehow I become put off at this person’s apparent lack of appreciation. I don’t insist that they kiss my feet, but it would be nice if they would at least say, “Thank you, Sir.”

Have you ever felt this way with your own children? Have you ever felt like you just finished cleaning and they come walking in without checking their feet? They don’t notice that the floor is clean, and they leave tracks on it again. You might say to them, “Honey, I just cleaned that floor,” and they respond, “Oh, sorry Mom. What’s for dinner?”

In that moment you want to say, “Mop the floor, and we’ll talk about it.”

Do you have thoughts like this? I do. I have to remind myself that I’m not doing this stuff for “them.” I’m doing this stuff for “them” for HIM.

He’s appreciative, although He doesn’t need to be appreciative of me. The fact is I don’t just owe Him a lot; I owe Him everything.