This is the 3^rd in a 4 part series about looking at Advent differently from a Christian perspective.

Part 1 – Worship Fully

Part 2 – Spend Less

Part 3 – Give More

Part 4 – Love All

Have you ever received a Christmas gift where the card might as well have said, “I didn’t think much about what you would actually like?” Haha. For me, it would be like someone giving me one of those fruitcakes (my apologies if you LOVE fruitcake). How about a sweater you’d never wear outside of your house? A tie that goes with nothing? I could go on, but the reality is that we get presents every year that are impersonal.

I’ve been guilty of giving impersonal gifts every year, and I’m beginning to feel more and more of a jerk about it. For example, nearly every year I give a few people a Starbucks card for $20 or something like that. You might say, “Hey! I’d love to get one of those!” To which I would say, “Me too!” But the reality is, why wouldn’t I just write “Merry Christmas, I don’t care much about our relationship and I didn’t give any time to thinking about what you might actually need and I am just giving you this so I don’t feel guilty about not caring about you” on a $20 bill, fold it up, put a ribbon on it & hand it over?

Is that too harsh? The reality is that I get about the same kind of gifts back from those people too, and we do it more out of courtesy than out of true care and love for each other. We might as well be swapping $20 bills. That’s so lame. I’m done with that.

This year I want to GIVE MORE of myself in the gifts I give. If I must give a coffee card, then I will give one from a local shop and attach it to a card that says, “This gift comes with conditions. I want to spend more time with you this year and give more to our friendship, so you may only spend this card on coffee with me!”

I’d love to see some ideas of relational giving in the comments below.

Learning to give more is all about learning to give like Jesus gave. Not only did he give of himself, but he gave us hope, joy, peace, rest and love. The Advent of Jesus Christ does not bring us meaningless material possessions, he’s given us a reconciled relationship with God.

I hope to change my ways this year and give more of myself in the relationships that I have. It will require thinking more and being creative. Hey! I may even have to make something with glue and paper like when I was a kid or get dirty serving and helping someone in ways they actually need.

I also hope to hear of others who are making Christmas more meaningful by giving more like Jesus this year.

For further reading on this, have a look at what the Apostle Paul has to say to the Corinthian church about being a cheerful giver in 2 Corinthians 9:6-15.