Christmas - Materialism and Giving

The Question

Is Christmas materialistic?  Have we made Christmas more about getting stuff and less about celebrating Jesus? 

To begin, yes.  Christmas has become materialistic.  It is easy for Jesus to become an afterthought.  We get distracted, and we lay tradition upon tradition, and unless we are just Scrooges, we end up buying lots of stuff for people who are already rich.  There are millions of children with nothing, and yet we find ourselves bumping up our baby cousin's toy count from 76 to 87.  My Christmas tree gets more clean water to drink in a day than some kids in our world.  Should we get and receive when there is such great need?  Or should we divert all our resources in those directions?  What should a true celebration of Christmas look like?

Giving and Receiving

Good.  Now that I have laid the guilt on thick, let me switch gears so that you are challenged but not crushed.  Giving is good!  Do not stop giving!  Spoil your baby cousin!  I want to lay no obstacle to the instinct in your heart that is a giving instinct.

God loves a cheerful giver.  He is not impressed by the begrudging giver.  You spoil your gift if it is not done in joy.  So give and give and give in a way that makes your heart glad!  There is such a good thing at the bottom of all giving - the realization that it is better to give than to receive. 

Of course, our giving can be tainted by selfish motives, but giving at its root is a good thing because it is a way we can resemble our incredibly giving Father.  We do want to be intentional and helpful in the way we give.  But perhaps guilt over the opportunity cost of what I am spending is not the way to go about it.  At least not the primary way.

Help From the Gospel

The Gospel says that we were dead in our sins, rebels against a holy God, deserving nothing but judgment, yet in grace and love Jesus came, lived the life I couldn't live, died the death I couldn't die, bore the full wrath of God against my sins, was raised victoriously by the Holy Spirit, and now in him I am fully forgiven and free by faith alone, not by my works. 

This shapes gift-giving because I realize that nothing I have is really my own.  I am a temporary steward of everything God has loaned to me.  So I don't cling to anything for myself.  And as I rest in and enjoy the benefits of the Cross, I realize that just as Jesus was not stingy with his own blood, how can I be stingy with my money, time, and possessions? 

But this gift also shapes my gift-receiving.  Some might take the scripture's teachings and think it is holier to always be the gift giver.  Don't do anything for me!  Let me give you stuff.  But the Gospel humbles us to realize that at the bottom of things, we are most basically receivers instead of givers.  Every single thing I have is from God.  There is ultimately nothing I can give to God that he has not given to me first.  The Gospel gives us the natural stance of open hands and glad hearts.  And just like God is not impressed by a begrudging giver, he is not impressed by a begrudging receiver.  Our hearts should be overflowing with thanksgiving always.  The giver is glorified, is happy, is satisfied when the gift is received with delight. 

The Gospel helps us to give and receive.  Christmas is about the greatest gift - Jesus.  Our giving during this time is a celebration of that.

Further Thoughts

#1 - The Gospel also frees me from the desire to compare myself with others.  The fallen part of my nature wants to see myself as better than others, and that spills over into Christmas-time, too.  I want to be the best gift-giver, whether that is the most heartfelt gift, the greatest quantity of gifts, or the holiest gift.  If God had a list of people he was impressed with, I want to be at the top of that list.  But we are all flattened before the Cross, grace-receiving beggars-become-saints.  I am not justified by my works, and I am not justified by how much I can give.  I am justified by what I have received - Jesus.

#2 - The Bible leaves a lot of things about how to live open, and I don't want to, in the vein of the Pharisees, presume to know how God probably should have closed them.  So I leave you with this.  Giving is beautiful.  You will be blessed in giving.  Enjoy Christmas, and honor Christ in the way you give and receive.  Open your eyes to world and its need - that's what Jesus did in his coming.  Let your heart break for what breaks his.  And hold loosely to the things of this world as you depend on the Holy Spirit to guide your stewardship.  There is probably a balance in there somewhere, and it probably does not lie in obsessing over such questions, but it certainly does not lie in ignoring them either. Giving can and should be both intentional and spontaneous, always with joy, and in the end we must give God all the glory!

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Some scripture to think on...

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.  They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.  (1 Timothy 6:17-19)