The Christmas shopping blitz takes aim at our wallets months before December 25th ever shows up. In conjunction with the glitzy ads and savvy commercials, we have this inherent expectation that we should be out buying things for people. And so we make our list, edit our list, ‘check it twice,’ ponder how creative we can get this year and how we can outdo everyone else, then head out to the store or jump online and let the shopping frenzy begin.
Christmas has dutifully embraced an inherent tradition of gift-giving symbolizing the gift of God’s Son to us and the gifts given to Jesus by the wise-men. Yet, true to our humanity we have over-blown and over-taxed and over-done the whole symbolism thing, thereby under-mining the true reason of Christmas. Gift-giving has now become something of an addictive hallmark and dutiful obligation of Christmas that sends us on a mad hunt where we’re doggedly on the trail of every sale or searching out every trendy item. Consumerism has found fertile ground in these misdirected notions and has fed them until we are out swiping our credit cards right up to our financial necks.
And so, after the holidays have passed, the carols and the lights have long faded, and we have settled into the doldrums of a wintery January, the bills show up. And what we’re left with are monthly payments absent of any meaning. We now have to dole out irritating sums of cash for gifts that are likely forgotten, long broken, or have been totally consumed in the frenzy of a season now gone. What we’re left with is holiday memories written out on in staggering numbers on credit statements that we’re likely to be seeing for months to come.
What Is Christmas?
Responsible Gift Giving
And so we’d be wise to reorient our spending notions around the true meaning of Christmas. Maybe we should ask ourselves what the essence of the season really is and let that inform any spending. We need to push aside consumerism, wipe away the smudges smeared by a culture that cheapens great things, look past the snowy mythical figures we’ve created, peer deeply into this season and ask what this is really all about. We need to ardently press pass what we say it is, to see what it really is.
Because when we do, we’re going to rapidly come to the rather stark realization that gift-giving for the sake of gift-giving is reckless and inherently thoughtless. Gift-giving to somehow embrace and exemplify the majesty of Christmas may have some room if we temper it thoughtfully. Such gift-giving is reverential and reflective, attempting to pass on to the recipient something infinitely greater than the gift itself. This is not about the price or market-value of the gift. It’s not about some trendy fad item, or getting our hands on a limited edition piece. It’s not about topping what we did last year, or being so flamboyantly creative that displaying our creativity is really what the gift is all about.
Rather, it’s about accentuating the reason for the season in a gift that embodies something that surpasses the gift. It’s about seeing the gift as a visual manifestation and physical representation of something that is beyond what any gift could be in and of itself. It is respectfully embodying the true meaning of Christmas in the gift. When we take this tact we move away from the sense that we need to shower others in an avalanche of gifts, and we move toward a broader understanding of what Christmas is really all about and how we gift others with that understanding through a gift.
The Gift of Self
While certain gifts will help to bring the richness of the season to those we love, we would also do well to remember that the gift of oneself is one of the most precious gifts of all. The cost of such a gift is time. The expense of such a gift is energy. And with such gifts, there will likely be an element of sacrifice that simply can’t be measured in any currency. While this may be the most costly of all gifts, it won’t show up on your credit card statement. And yet, it is the very gift that will be remembered when all other gifts have fallen into the foggy mist of history and time passed. This is the gift of lasting impact. This is the gift that most closely approximates the heart. This is the gift that most closely mirrors the gift that God gave us during this season. And so it would do us well to determine how we can most meaningfully give ourselves.
Conclusion
And so, temper your gift-giving to mirror the true essence of the season; that the gift may impart to the recipient something of the majesty of Christmas that will change the meaning of their lives. And as part of the gift-giving, give yourself. For in giving yourself you are giving a one-of-a-kind gift that will mirror the one-of-a-kind gift given to us that we celebrate during this most precious time of the year. When you give in these ways, you are giving something infinitely more than just a gift. Indeed, you are giving something that can change the recipient’s life for the rest of their life. And is that not what Christmas is really all about?
Craig Lounsbrough
M. Div., LPC