“10 gifts for the person who has it all.” “Incredible gadgets for that friend who has everything.” Maybe you’ve seen similar headlines popping up on your favorite websites or on magazine covers as the Christmas shopping season draws near.
It seems every year more and more people struggle to find perfect gifts for their loved ones in a society where everyone has the basics and most have all their wants, too.
So stores offer us crazy, wacky gifts that our friends would never buy for themselves — gifts that will probably be used a couple of times and then put away.
I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t seem like a good solution to me, especially when there are people around the world just wishing for a warm coat, a healthy meal, or shoes for their child this Christmas.
Thinking about this season of giving in light of the millions of impoverished people across the globe has me rethinking my own wants this holiday. I certainly don’t consider myself a person who “has it all,” but I definitely could live without the extra books and shoes I may want to ask for.
So instead of buying meaningless gifts or asking for fashionable apparel that will just take up more closet space, I’m determined to have a more purposeful Christmas this year … and I invite you to join me.
Consider giving a gift that can actually change someone’s life. For instance, you can send school supplies to a child in need, give a pair of income-producing chickens to a hungry family, or provide a single mother with vocational training.
As you make your shopping list and have to decide what to get for that uncle who is impossibly hard to buy for, consider giving the gift of clean water or lifesaving supplies to a needy family in his name.
This Christmas season, you can transform a life. After all, that’s what Christmas is all about.
Christ came to earth to heal the sick, to help the poor, and to give every person the greatest gift of all — salvation. What better way to celebrate the season of His birth than by following in His footsteps?
You can send a reflection of Christ’s love across oceans to a man, woman, or child who wasn’t expecting to receive anything this Christmas. Every gift you give meets an immediate need and opens a door to share the true meaning of Christmas with someone who may have never heard the Gospel.
This year, instead of stressing about what to get friends who seem to have everything, let’s focus on giving generously to those who have much less.