Christmas gifts

Christmas is wonderful. It’s inconsistent to our self-centered nature.

At other times we’d be interested to buy things for ourselves, but Christmas joy seeks to reward others first. And with some effort too. Christmas shopping, in my opinion, is a serious task. Even for a geek.

Not to make commerce out of Christmas, but that with commerce, the channels and means of blessing and reaching out to others is expanded.

Christmas makes even UPS and FedEx trucks as desirable as ice-cream trucks.

The original Christmas gift is described in John 3:16.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

There is that, and then there is Romans 6:23.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Christmas is all about giving, and it’s not money. In many customs and cultures around the world, cash gifts sealed in tiny pouch or envelope are mainstream. Christmas requires effort, because even with Amazon and Google, one can not rely on his or her own apathy because a Christmas gift is supposed to be meaningful. That’s why stories about Santa and Christmas spirit appeals so much to so many.

God gave Jesus as a gift to mankind, and that started it all, a Christmas tradition for over two thousand years. And it’s a giving tradition.

Even if gift topping is comparable to an arms race it’s a win-win one.

To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.

-Mahatma Gandhi

So, next Christmas when you’re preparing a wish list for yourself, you may want to write a secret Santa gift list for somebody else and get in the Christmas spirit.

Also, one doesn’t have to believe in anything to play along in a Christmas celebration, but what good is a Christmas party of beer and pretentious jolly? Prudence and good judgment of a wise person would spark curiosity for the source of Christmas spirit.

A blessed Christmas is one that is absolute and adds no sorrow the day after. The best Christmas is always one with family and friends.