Christmas is over. The pressure of buying presents for your entire family (and then some) has subsided. We’re full of great food and fun memories. And now, we’re tempted to settle right back into how we always are and what we always do.
Sure, there are the resolutions we’ll make in a few days. We’ll focus on being more active or losing weight. We’ll say we’ll be daily Bible readers, but we won’t start a day before the 1st because what good would that do?! But what about today? What about right now?
December is an interesting critter because it really brings giving to the forefront of our minds. January brings the change, sure, but December is the month of giving. We give to those in need, give to our families, and spread our holly-jolly spirit around for everyone to see. And then the 26th happens. We go right back to thinking about our stuff and our schedule and what we have going on throughout the next year. We start planning our vacations and budgeting our money for our wants/needs.
My challenge to you (and mostly me) is to not let your spirit of giving die just because another Christmas has come and gone. Don’t wait to resurrect that spirit until next December. Instead, resolve right now (not in a few days) to continue giving. May every aspect of our lives be characterized by the things we give:
May we give the gospel.
So often Christmastime brings talk of Jesus and His saving love and miraculous birth. Let’s keep that beautiful story before us every day, and tell others that we come into contact with about all that Jesus has done. After all, the great commission seems to be more focused on telling and teaching than the actually going. Instead, as we go about our daily lives, that’s when we take the message. So let’s continue giving throughout the year the greatest gift of all, the story of Jesus’ love.
May we give to the Kingdom.
2 Corinthians 9:7 indicates that God has a special kind of love for those who are cheerful givers. Within the context, Paul is talking about giving to churches in need and helping the kingdom of Christ. To be loved and praised by our God, we must be a people who purpose to give, and who purpose to give cheerfully, thankfully, and bountifully. May none of us ever pull a last minute “oh I have to give” this year, or a “this week is less because I forgot” or a complete neglect because “someone else will.” Instead, may we excitedly give to Jesus’ cause every week, prayerful that those funds will help someone see the Light of Jesus.
May we give anonymously.
When we choose to bless others with the blessings (money) we’ve been given by God, we shouldn’t do it so that they pat us on the back, or so that others will make us feel good about what we’ve done. We shouldn’t do things for the sake of being seen by anyone, because Jesus said those people have their reward (Matt. 6:1-2). Instead, we are to do things for others simply for the sake of God being praised and God being pleased. Is it wrong for someone to know we did something nice for them? No. But when acknowledged, we must shift the praise from ourselves to our God, who is the true giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17).
May we give non-materialistically.
The warnings given by Paul in 1 Timothy 6 are warnings that all of us should take to heart. We are the rich in this world. We have so many material blessings! It takes intentionality to not give and place emphasis upon material blessings. Keep in mind what Paul said in 1 Tim. 6:10, that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” I would hate to give someone (kids, family, friends) so many material blessings that they are tempted and enticed to stray from the faith because of greediness. Instead, when we give, we must place the emphasis on sharing, blessing others, giving back to God, and being good stewards.
May we give without expecting a return.
Notice what Jesus said in Luke 14:12-14, “Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” All that we do is to be done by the grace of God, without expecting to get something back. So we lose money. So we lose time. So we lose energy. Nothing that we do on earth in the name of the Lord is in vain, regardless of what it takes from us or out of us.
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I want to be a year-round giver. This time of year reminded me to be, and I want to resolve to continue to be one. God loves those who give, so don’t hold back, and He won’t withhold His special love from you.
