The Art of Giving

Classes have officially ended for the year.  Students seem relieved.  Just a few meager finals and the holiday is officially on.  What could be better?

I have heard it said: "You either love money and use people or you love people and use money."  It is really that simple.  As we near the busiest and spendiest few days of the year, may we be those who use money to love people, not the other way around.

In English 1 today, we read "The Gift of the Magi."  I like this story because in it two people foolishly sell their most-prized possessions in order to give the other something significant.  But they highlight most dramatically the true spirit of giving.  It is not giving if you don't have to give up anything, if you just give from your excess.  True giving happens when we give up what is most valuable to us for the sake of another, precisely because the one to whom we give is more valuable than the thing sacrificed.  In that case, there is no sacrifice.  I had students remember their favorite gifts and many mentioned that the best part of Christmas is opening presents.  One student even said that his tradition is going to his grandmother's house and "collecting" his presents.  We are too accustomed to collecting so-called presents from others, always receiving, always taking.  Too few of us practice any sort of giving, fewer still seek out opportunities to give thoughtfully and sacrificially, giving up the most valued possessions for the sake of another.

The economy is crumbling.  And while people continue to spend excessively on Christmas presents, sinking further into debt, few have learned the art of giving.  It doesn't take much to give.  And it definitely need not cost a fortune.  But it does take sacrifice.  It takes letting go of my stuff and what I want.  It takes allowing the strangely counter-intuitive thought that perhaps there is someone out there more valuable than me and my stuff.  Now that's hard.  But, in the midst of shopping lines and traffic jams, if we learn to see that the spirit of Christmas is anything but decorated trees and big toys, we just might find that giving is not only an art but also an inexpressible joy.

Enjoy the holiday.  Enjoy the time off.  And give a little.