Giving
After a long day of celebrations, Simóne and I were discussing how Christmas Day is not so celebratory for some as it is for others. While we all have the eternal gift of a Saviour to celebrate, the methodology surrounding our celebrations is often extreme and not by so by choice.
In his book on Giving, Bill Clinton transcribes a conversation he had with TV Queen, Oprah. Asking her why she started the Angel Network, Oprah replies, “Three nuns I didn’t know made me fee like I mattered when my mother, half brother, half sister, and I were on welfare and they brought us food and toys for Christmas. The best gift wasn’t the toys. It was being able to give an honest answer when the other kids asked what I got for Christmas.”
The essential core of Christmas is about giving and, for me, this highlights it perfectly. What a great deed to be able to give a gift that brings far greater joy than the gift itself. Surely there is no better personal satisfaction than being able to give dignity, hope and relief to a child who knows poverty so well she doesn’t fear being without a gift but fears the isolation and segregation that poverty brings.
When God exemplified giving, He executed an act of immense depth and eternal, yet unsophisticated impact on humanity.
Giving is truly satisfying in so many ways.