One month before Christmas -
"Honey, what do you want for Christmas?"
"What do the kids want for Christmas?"
"What do you think we should get our parents, sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews for Christmas?"
I DON'T KNOW (they already have everything)...
-- Last year, in America, pre-Christmas sales were $584.3 billion 2010 Holiday Shopping Statistics
Mid-morning Christmas day -
"Look at that mess of wrapping paper and bows...I think I'm going to need three garbage bags to pack it up and throw it all away."
"Mommy, my toy just broke...can you fix it?"
Call from grandparents - "So what did you get for Christmas?" "Oh, a bunch of toys and some candy. Thanks for the presents."
Two weeks after Christmas -
"I'm bored Mom." "Why don't you go play with some of your new Christmas toys?" "I already have...I'm tired of them."
"I sure am glad Christmas comes only once a year...I'm still trying to recover from the rush of the season."
"Wow, honey, we need to spend less on Christmas next year...we really ran up the credit card!"
-- According to the American Consumer Credit Council, the average American spends $935 on Christmas each year and carries an average credit card debt of $8,562 American Consumer Credit Council
Does this scenario sound anything like your house at Christmas time? Is this the tradition we want to pass down to our children, year after year...memories of gifts, gifts and more gifts at Christmas so that Christmas seems like just one more birthday?
It is a birthday after all...the birthday of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But do our gift giving traditions convey this truth? Will our children grow up thinking about Christmas as a time of giving gifts to Jesus or giving gifts to ourselves?
But how do we give gifts to Jesus? "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:40
We can give gifts to Jesus by helping others at Christmas, by giving gifts to the "least of these." While more than 580 billion was spent on Christmas last year in America, over half the world has yet to hear Christ's name.
Please take a minute to watch this 2 minute video to learn about a different type of gift giving this year...one that can make a difference in eternity.
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