Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matt 6:1-4
Christmas is a time of giving, so the culture tells us. And at this time of the year, we give and give and give some more, but we give out of "I want" not "I need". Of all the people you gave to this Christmas, what was their NEED, their TRUE need? The heart of Jesus is not in the "I need", it is giving to those who are hurting. Given the state of finances in our country today, there is great need among a great many.
I think we would all be shocked to see what the December event REALLY cost us. Let's do a breakdown. Be honest now, no rationalizations. :D This is between you and God and He already knows, so just be honest with yourself. Go down the list and put in what you spent.
■Tree - did I buy a new one this year?
■Decorations (you always buy something new every year) -
■GIFTS FOR ANYONE (including taxes where applicable -
■wrapping paper -
■bows -
■ribbons -
■name tags -
■tape -
■christmas cards -
■postage -
■baking supplies -
■food -
■gas to go shopping SEVERAL times -
■increase electric bill -
■additional beverages -
■alcohol -
■additional snacks -
■candy -
■new holiday clothes of ANY kind -
■new holiday jewelry -
■did you travel anywhere? gas, transpotation, and/or lodging fees -
■actual man hours spent on shopping, traveing, decorating, wrapping, special cleaning projects, and extra preparation such as holiday baking x your hourly salary - or if not workng, x 10.00 =
■how much overtime did your stove and oven work? cost -
■INTEREST ON YOUR CREDIT CARD PURCHASES -
■Anything else -
You say Christmas is about giving, right? It's all about the warm fuzzies you get when you give without expecting anything back, right? Now, if you really want some awesome "warm fuzzies", if you really want the heart of Jesus, a truly giving heart, spend absolutely NOTHING on yourself or your family & friends, do not put up or decorate a tree or your home, take all the time, energy and money you would spend on the above and do one or more or all of the following until you use all the money you would have spent on the above. Send a note to whoever you would have bought a gift for and tell them what you did IN THEIR NAME, in place of giving THEM a gift. Their excitement or disappointment will be a good indication of where THEIR hearts are.
1. pay a pesioners heating bill for a month
2. pay a pensioners extra health care preimum for a month or two
3. buy a month's worth of groceries for a single parent
4. buy someone's medicines for month who has no health coverage
5. buy a couple of tanks of gas for someone who is not working
6. know a single parent who is strugglng - find out their most pressing need and fill it
7. go to the local nursing home and buy a gift for as many residents as you can. The need is great for sweaters and sweatshirts as they are ALWAYS cold.
8. find a struggling family and buy them all coats and boots for winter (kids certanly do grow)
9. pay the dentist bill for someone or a family
10. make gift baskets for several families with the following: lanudry soap; dish soap; bath soap; shampoo; toothpaste; new toothbrushes; deoderant; toliet paper
11. pay someone's rent or mortgage
12. pay someone's car insurance premium for a year
13. pay utilities for a single parent
14. send all the money to a local shelter for the homeless
After you have done this, tell me how your heart feels. If Christmas is TRULY about Christ in your heart, if it really is about giving and not receiving, we will be able to do this without batting an eye.
Give to your family and friends when there is absoutely no occasion to do so. Awesome. A gift right out of the blue for no reason whatsoever is the most wonderful gift of all.
This will tell the tale for all of us. Blessings on your life.
Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
Luke 12:33
"Jesus, I want your heart, I desire no part of the world's heart. Change me, Lord, change me. I want only to be like you. Amen"
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