Wednesday, December 17, 2003
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Wednesday, December 17, 2003 |
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Be gracious in receiving gifts By JOHN HATCHER Holiday advertisements are full of gift ideas and suggestions. Retailers know what you and I know only too well: one of the biggest challenges of Christmas is what to get those special people on your gift list. The ones who already have everything they need. The ones who, upon needing something, have the financial means to go out and buy it for themselves. The ones who never seem to like anything you ever give them. The ones who don’t ever do anything and therefore provide no clues as to what to get them. Because my father smoked, we always had a couple of good ideas what to get him for Christmas. One year I bought him his own cigarette-rolling machine. He liked to roll his own at one point in his smoking pilgrimage. Then there was always the fancy lighter you could buy him. In retrospect, however, we all wish he had not smoked. But you get the idea. But I believe that there is an even greater challenge presented by the Christmas practice of gift giving and that is the art, or grace, of accepting gifts. I have found this far more difficult and perplexing than giving. And yet, if the whole concept gets its full wrap, there has to be an acceptance of the same joy that prompted the gift in the first place. Think about those first Christmas gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. I am sure any poor Bethlehem family would know what to do with some gold, but frankincense and myrrh? We still hear about those three divine gifts because they were received joyfully and treasured wondrously by the family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. Gifts are given because they hold significant meaning to the giver, not particularly to the recipient. For example, what man would not be overjoyed to receive a pair of presidential cufflinks? But wherein is their value? That they were designed for the President, not you. To the visitors from the East, gold, frankincense and myrrh meant a great deal to them and therein lie their worth. Let me first offer some suggestions what you should never say upon receiving a gift. First, never say, “You should not have.” Are you really saying, “You should not have thought that much of me because I really am not worth that much”? By all means, “they” thought enough of you to buy you a particular gift and you should exclaim, “Thank you for thinking so much of me.” Second, never say, “I don’t think it’s my size.” The gift’s value does not reside in its size, but its motivation. Forget the size at the moment and make over the selection of color and style. You can always return it for the right size later on. Why kill the joy of giving by lamenting over the right size? Size, smize! Third, never say, “Where did you get this?” You just as well may have said, “What cat drug this in?” It doesn’t matter a hill of M and Ms from where the gift came. Rejoice that the gift is in your lap, given by someone who cares for you and loves you. Rejoice is the word for receiving, not suspicion. Fourth, never say, “Oh, what is this?” You will find out in time what exactly it is and its intention. Now, as you open the gift, celebrate it as a generic gift. “Thank you. Wow! Man, this is great!” are all in order and appropriate for mysterious gifts. The most wonderful gift I ever gave was a 50-cent milk glass plant vase. What made it the most wonderful gift of all was the joyous response from my mother as she opened the wrapped box. I remember her words whispered to a nine-year-old boy: “Your gift is the best gift of all.” It was the least expensive gift my mother received that year, but it was her joyous response that made it the best give I ever gave. Thanks Mama! John Hatcher is pastor of Outreach International Center, 1091 South Jeff Davis Drive, Fayetteville, Georgia 30215. 770-719-0303 |
