Daily Butter 11/20: Season of Giving

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/20/11):

Give to the one who asks you, and don't turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. …

For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don't even the tax collectors do the same?

(Matthew 5:42, 46 HCSB)

With Thanksgiving just days away now, the “Season of Giving” is upon us (even in this culture of self-focused, self-made men and women with such high self esteem they’re apparently lightheaded from the altitude).  I love the lights and the festivities and “spirit of the season,” but how can we be the light of the world in a season where everyone is putting up the lights and giving tokens to one another? (Hint: it’s not by putting up more lights than anyone else on the block) Because God sees things differently (1 Sam 16:7), I think it requires a shift in perspective. It’s not about the what or the how much or the when or the where, but it may be about the who and I believe it is ALWAYS about the why. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still be a bit selfish and get gifts for my family to feel the joy of the smile on their faces. But is there something I can give for the soul purpose of giving?

It always seemed odd to me that the “Season of Giving” begins with Thanksgiving just as it has confused me that in our house (as in many if not most Christian homes) gave thanks for our meal before partaking of it. This country has been so blessed for so long that apart from a cute little skit by the elementary school kids each year, we forget where the holiday got its roots: Thanking God Almighty for bringing just the right friends into the lives of the settlers that they survived, and in His faithfulness had brought about a harvest that gave them hope for a better time in the coming winter. Sorry, it’s not about turkey and football. It is about family and friends, our need for one another, and gathering together to renew ties and love one another. Okay, so throwing in a drumstick and a pigskin still makes it one of the least “materialisticized” holidays, but crammed between the number one retail holiday (Christmas) and the number two (Halloween) does tend to make it a bit overshadowed.

- Andy Jentes