God bless us, everyone.....

World Vision,  Prison Fellowship, Heifer International, Mercy Ships.
Those are the requests for money that came yesterday.
And those are just the ones in the mail, I also get dozens of emails every single day- Water.org, WWF,  CRF, Red Cross, various ministries- to name a few.
And then there are the non-profit art organizations- which are important too.  I know, I work for one- I depend on people's generosity to make a living.  At least 40% of non-profit operating expenses come from giving.
Then you go to the stores- we have a hilarious guy that does the Salvation Army bell ringing at our local Fred Meyer- he is just a bundle of constant, over-the-top joy and holiday good cheer- always singing or blowing the weird slide whistle- I have no idea how he does it.
Then there are the countless toy and food drives all over the place.  We don't have a toy drive at the theatre- our Salvation Army gifts go to the senior citizens- which I think is great.
And just the other day, I was privileged to work a fundraiser for Hetauda House- which is a safehouse in Nepal for trafficked women and children- it is an amazing place, full of amazing people.

So much need, so many opportunities.

'Tis the season to give....and there are so many worthy causes.  How do we navigate this?
There is so much poverty and wealth imbalance in the world.  And we want to teach our children to be generous and caring people.  WE want to be generous and caring people.
After all, it is better to give than to receive.

Or is it?

The other day, in the advent devotional- this topic came up- and I have been doing a bit of wrestling with it- because, frankly- I always go a bit crazy this time of year- and then suddenly, I am broke and wondering where all my money went.  The essay I was reading was called The God We Hardly Knew, by William Willimon.  

Here are a few "treasures" that struck me:

Christmas is a season to celebrate our alleged generosity.

We prefer to think of ourselves as givers-

powerful, competent, self-sufficient, capable people

whose goodness motivates us to employ some of our power,

competence and gifts to benefit the less fortunate.

Nothing is more repugnant to capable, reasonable people than grace.

-John Wesley

Ouch.  Bill-you are killing me here.

I mean, how does this work?  We are commanded in the Bible to care for orphans and widows- to take care of the needy and oppressed.  This is the will of God- we see it all over scripture...but WOW- I guess we need to check our motivation, n'est pas?

He talks a bit about the popularity of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol vs. the Nativity story.

How many kajillion versions of A Christmas Carol are there?  I personally am a fan of Mr. Magoo- I don't know why and Marty doesn't like it- but I just love it- perhaps because it is cheesy and dated.

At Christmas, some version of Scrooge is everywhere- Bill Murray, Muppets- it is all over the place.

What is the attraction- why is Christmas Carol so timeless, so popular?

I had never thought about this conundrum before- Scrooge vs. Jesus....why is one more popular than the other. But I think I see it.  When we see Scrooge have his revelation and heart change and he comes to the light of love and turns his life around- it makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside because we can do that too- this is concrete action, people!  We can feel better about ourselves!  We can DO something! We can save the day! Here you go,  young scamp! Here's some money to go purchase a turkey or goose or some chicken nuggets for the Cratchits!

Thank heavens we are not the Cratchits. 

I have been the Cratchits.  I have spent years of my life living in what is considered "poverty" here in the States.  I never felt like I was, but I was.  After all, we live in a first world country- and I own books.  That is wealth.  But there have been times of extreme drought- and I have had friends bail me out, buy me food, pay my bills, given me cars- furniture- and I have happily done that for others in times of my own prosperity- I hope I continue to do so.  I believe that is what God intends for our lives- for us to care for each other, to help provide for each other.  He uses His people, He does not drop millions of dollars out of the sky.  Well, sometimes, in the movies...

Have you seen this?  This is one of my favorite movies ever.

And it deals with the ideas of giving, and grace and greed.

It is delightful.

Go watch it right now, it's a Christmas movie- it's okay.

Giving.  It's a good thing.

But we must beware that it does not become an idol.

Because good things can be idols too.

I love to give.  I love to find the right gift at the right time and see how it blesses people.  It is harder to be on the receiving end of that. I am often on the receiving end of that.

The most recent, specific incident that I can think of is a gift of a Coach messenger bag.

Yep. COACH.

Now- please understand, I do not begrudge people nice things, I really don't- but several hundred dollars for a purse?  Well, that seems a bit silly to me.  But, on my "Baggage" Pinterest board, you will find several pictures of leather Coach messenger bags...because- if I were ever to spend a kajillion dollars on a bag- that would be the one- and I would use that thing for the rest of my life.

Last summer, one of my employees found one in a THRIFT STORE for $35.  I am not even kidding. And while I rejoiced for her because DANG!  THAT IS A DEAL!  I was a little envious.  And the time came for her to move on and she brought me a "Ta-ta-for-now" gift- and you guessed it, it was that leather Coach bag.  I just about started crying.  She is more of a treasure to me than the bag, I am so thankful she is my friend- but I love the bag too.

Grace and blessing.  From unexpected places.  

Isn't that just like God?  Using the unexpected to bless us.

The nativity story....demonstrating through a strange story

of a virgin birth to a peasant couple in Judea that the solution to 

what ails us has very little to do with us.

After having tried for generations to cure what ails us,

God reached for something inconceivable.

God put on our back doorstep a solution so radical

that many of us missed it.

This is often the way God loves us:

with gifts we thought we didn't need,

which transform us into people we don't

necessarily want to be.

Jesus vs. Scrooge.

Jesus- the true gift, the one we don't have to do anything but receive.  And we don't have to be "good."  We can't be good, we can't do anything BUT receive.  There is no Elf-on-the-shelf for Jesus...just a baby born helpless in poor circumstances- who would someday change the world.  Even if you don't believe, you can't deny He is out there- historically or otherwise.  

One king held the frankincense,

One king held the myrrh,

One king held the purest gold,

One king held the hope of the world.

Tiny baby, born to wear a crown.

I don't think we should stop giving, caring, looking for opportunities to bless others.

Far from it- but I do think we need to take a breath and check our hearts.

Why are we giving?  Is it because God wants us to?  Is it motivated out of love?
Or is it- a tax break?  A point of pride?  Outside pressure? Has giving become an idol in our lives?

True story- I have seen this happen- and I am sure you have too- the pressure to give- to a church building, to a cause- and the warm fuzzy pride you feel when you finally cave to the pressure- or even go above and beyond.  I don't think God wastes this in any way shape or form- but sometimes, do we give when we aren't supposed to?

I'll be honest- I struggle with this.  I have sat under some false teaching regarding giving, and I am still trying to figure out what is truth.

My current philosophy is to give if I sense God saying give- but sometimes, I just feel the pressure and cave into it.   And I also really love blessing people...it is just fun!

However, I have also been on the serious receiving end of grace.  Of serious provision.  Big stuff- big time- which I think makes it easier to bless others.  But I have to guard my heart and check my motivation.

This morning in Matthew 8 or 9- I can't remember which,  Jesus was talking about requiring compassion and mercy- not sacrifice.

Where am I to be compassionate?  Where do I extend mercy?  Where do I give and lay down my life?

Is it enough?  Do I give enough?  Should I not give?  There are so many worthy organizations- so much need- and I walk in abundance- how do I do this?

I don't know.  But I pray that my giving will be in accordance with God's will,  in obedience and in generosity.

God grant us grace to give, God grant us grace to receive.