"Three things go by the name of Christmas. One is a religious festival. This is important and obligatory for Christians; but as it can be of no interest to anyone else... The second (it has complex historical connections with the first, but we needn't go into them) is a popular holiday, an occasion for merrymaking and hospitality. If it were my business to have a 'view' on this, I should say that I much approve of merrymaking. But what I approve of much more is everybody minding their own business. I see no reason why I should volunteer views as to how other people should spend their own money in their own leisure among their own friends. It is highly probable that they want my advice on such matters as little as I want theirs. But the third thing called Christmas is unfortunately everyone's business.
I mean of course, the commercial racket... I condemn it on the following grounds:
- It gives on the whole much more pain than pleasure. You have only to stay over Christmas with a family who seriously try to 'keep' it (in its third, or commercial, aspect) in order to see that the thing is a nightmare. Long before December 25 everyone is worn out - physically worn out be weeks of daily struggle in overcrowded shops, mentally worn out by the effort to remember all the right recipients and to think out suitable gifts for them. They are in no mood for merrymaking; much less (if they should want to) to take part in a religious act. They look far more as if there had been a long illness in the house.
- Most of it is involuntary. The modern rule is that anyone can force you to give him a present by sending you a quite unprovoked present of his own. It is almost a blackmail. who has not heard the wail of despair, and indeed resentment, when, at the last moment, just as everyone hoped that the nuisance was over for one more year, the unwanted gift from Mrs. Busy (whom we hardly remember) flops unwelcomed through the letter-box, and back to the dreadful shops we go.
- Things are given as presents which no mortal ever bought for himself - gaudy and useless gadgets, 'novelties' because no one was ever fool enough to make their like before."
C. S. sounds like a bit of Dickens' Scrooge, but in many aspects, he has nailed the very head of my feelings about the Christmas traditions of presents. But, when I was young boy, my attitude was much different. Giving a gift, no matter how small or insignificant, to someone else was a source of great joy from me. And receiving a gift - that was true pleasure. Gifts, not necessarily at Christmas, and not necessarily gift-wrapped, are a symbol of love. Christmas gift giving may have turned into a symbol of corporate greed and fiscal insanity, but the gift giving without hope for recompense makes the world go round.
The other day, a very close friend of mine received a package in the mail. The address from the sender was from her 'boss.' My friend (who we will name "Kristin") happens to sell kitchen cookware and accessories for the company of this 'boss.' Anyway, inside the package was a letter and a 'gift.' The letter congratulated Kristin for selling $15,000 worth of products and for her reward or 'gift' Kristin received a small, silver colored, one-half inch plastic cooking whisk that could either be affixed to Kristin's coat or worn as a necklace. (Why anyone would put a chain through a plastic cooking utensil and wear it around her neck is beyond me, but I'm also clueless why someone would push a perfectly good earring through their tongue)
I looked at Kristin and said, "Are you joking? For selling $15,000 of product they give you something that came out of an arcade gallery. You know, those little machines that have the claw - it makes a growling noise as you move it around and then drops on top of a yellow, plastic ball once every ten times. That is your reward for serving and selling?"
Kristin held up the little plastic whisk with a smile on her face. "Silly boy. This isn't about the gift; this is a symbol of me being proud of my accomplishment. My boss didn't need to send me anything."
"So do you have to send her anything in return - a piece of Tupperware or maybe spoon she can wear for a hat?" Nothing like sarcasm in the winter.
Kristin simply rolled her eyes.
"Won't you feel guilt if you don't send her something in return? Isn't that the point of thank you letters? To even out the balance - gift for thanks?"
"I might do that," Kristin responded. "For all gifts, thanks ensure good relationship."
"Next time tell her you want the gift that fits in your wallet. Maybe a %5 increase in your commission."
Kristin put the whisk down. "You don't get it. The gift is enough. And, by the way, this better not end up in one of your blogs."
I took the half-inch sized whisk from her hand and tried to scramble my eggs for breakfast.
I think many times God gives us gifts and we tend to treat them more like C.S. Lewis' understanding of the unfortunate side effects of capitalistic Christmas, than Kristin's thankful response for enjoying the job she's been given. Sometimes when God gives us gifts we feel like we must exhaust ourselves finding the perfect way to pay him back. If only I could do enough good things for other people, then God would be thanked enough. Or (this is my thought process usually) if I do enough for God, then the gifts are going to keep coming. Like the "Gift of Jafar" or whatever that book was a few years ago that spoke of asking God for whatever you want and if you're faithful enough, He'll give it to you. "Prayer of Jabez" - that's it. Give to God and he'll multiply it so you will be rich, have a great big house and be the envy of your sub-division.
Or, when God gives us some gifts, its almost an invitation that God wants us to help in a way that is outside our comfort zone. A friend of mine just learned how to play the guitar. She was really enjoying it (this is not Kristin, by the way - I have more than one friend, remember George?) but once she got the hang of it, someone asked her if she would play for church. Then, my friend politely stopped playing the guitar because she couldn't envision actually playing for someone else (which in my opinion is perfectly fine) but perhaps God can use her even in the midst of her fears of failure.
Lastly, sometimes a gift of God is what we deem gaudy or useless. I have often heard people say that they have no talent - that God hasn't blessed them with anything. But often, when people say that they are talent-less, they are simply comparing themselves to others who have talents that are promoted as more desirable. All gifts from God are useful and can be utilized in a way that only God can show us how. But, it's a matter of discerning in what way God can use our usefulness.
Our Savior's is in the process of trying to understand the gifts that God is giving each one of us. "Finding Your Place" is what it is being called. In the body of Christ, our gifts are used to promote the greater good. Not everyone can be teachers or preachers, musicians or leaders, sacristans or ushers - but all gifts need to be utilized to help the Body of Christ to be a moving, living entity. A wise man once said, "If it doesn't move, the odds are, it's probably dead." His name was Captain Obvious.
So, here is my encouragement this week: take a few moments this week - be silent and listen for the expression of the gifts of God in your life and hear how He wants you to use them. Read, pray and if you want to, let me know what gift God is pressing into your hands. Find your place to serve.
Have a great week.
reid
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