Temporary gifts

Twelve days until Christmas. That is really hard to believe, isn’t it? It seems like just yesterday we were having turkey and cranberries.

By this time, trees are up and decorated; Christmas cards are out; gifts are purchased; and kids are already having a difficult time falling asleep at night.

I know; as a society we do Christmas backwards, celebrating everything before the big day and then forgetting it by breakfast on the 26th. That’s for a different column.

Today I want to talk about gifts.

It’s likely that you will be giving and receiving gifts in the near future. Do you remember what you gave and received last year? Chances are that you don’t. A year from now I would bet I get the same answer. The gifts are temporary.

In fact, from a faith perspective, ALL gifts are temporary.

In legal terms, once a gift is made, it is permanent. If I give my kids $100, it’s theirs to do with what they will. If I put strings on it, it’s not a gift because I am still controlling it. If I don’t like what they do with it, I can’t get it back.

Try making a gift to a charity and then control how it is spent. You can make a gift that is designated to help in a particular area, but if the charity decides to use it in such a way that they are still doing what they said they would do, but not in the way you like, it is not coming back to your bank account.

Once a gift is made, it is over. There are some caveats to the process; but for the most part, once a gift is made, there is no unmaking it.

In stewardship, we talk about gifts all the time. The term “time, talent and treasure” is ubiquitous when we mention stewardship. We always frame the three T’s as gifts from God that we share with others. Yet as the receivers of them, are they really gifts?

God gave us these things out of pure love. It was an unnecessary action on his part. He didn’t have to give us the skills that we ply into work so we can make a living. But he still gave them to us.

Then he wants them back! With increase!!! That is not a deductible event for God.

When we pray and we thank God for all the gifts he has given us, we have to remember that they come with an expectation. Don’t believe me? Read Matthew  25:14-30 – the parable of the Talents. The servant who does not return his talent with increase faces wailing and gnashing of teeth.

These things God gives us aren’t really gifts in the legal sense. They are really loans, as payback is required. When we die, the balance comes due.

When Christmas morning rolls around and you are knee-deep in wrapping paper, remember that next year you probably won’t remember the gifts from this year. If you don’t, no one is going to call you on it.

When we die, however, we can be sure there will be an accounting. Will we hear wailing and gnashing of teeth? Or will our Lord say to us:

“Well done, good and faithful servant.”