No longer a rant

Every year about this time I am usually in the mood to rant and rave about the materialism of the Christmas season. I think that I am done with that. I think that I am going to see it from a different angle from now on. Christmas is about celebration. Everyone celebrates Christmas for their own reasons. My reason is that it celebrates the birth of my Lord Jesus Christ.


I've realized that the giving of gifts has been a part of the Christmas celebration for centuries and is not necessarily a product of our materialistic society. Just as each person has their own reason for celebrating Christmas each person has their own motivations, reasoning for gift giving. Some give to receive, others to be accepted, some even out of obligation even though they do not even have a nice thought to think about the person that they are giving to but I think that most people give because they want to show their love and appreciation for their family and friends.


I think one of the biggest reasons that I used to rant about giving gifts at Christmas was because so many people go into debt just to give stuff. I haven't gone into debt over Christmas but I am always tempted to spend more than I should...and sometimes I do. As a Christian I need to make sure that my motivation for giving is right and Christ honoring.


So how do I honor Christ in giving Christmas presents you may ask? Well I think it is just common sense which applies to my life all of the time. Here are some questions to ask... First, does the gift I give honor the person that I am giving it to?
Second, in buying the gift am I being a good steward of my money?
Third, does the gift honor Christ and my commitment to him?


The reason that I write this is that I was pondering buying my brother a shot glass checker board for Christmas and then thought "What am I saying to him buy giving him this gift? Not only that buy what am I saying about my commitment to what I believe?"