Saturday, December 13, 2014

Give With Wisdom and Love

I noticed this past week that Rudolph the “Red Nosed Reindeer” has entered his fiftieth year of service as lead sleigh hauler. That kind of makes one sit back and think about all the years that have whizzed past, marked by the season of giving thanks and sharing with love. I too have fifty plus years of work and service behind me and like Rudolph, I hope I have many more ahead. Of course we’ve all had to adjust to the ever changing ways the world has to deal with new technology and business management. Even the North Pole has recently had some organizational changes. The recent announcement that Donner and Blitzen have elected to take the early reindeer retirement package has triggered a good deal of concern about whether they will be replaced and about other restructuring decisions at the North Pole. Streamlining will be necessary due to the North Pole’s loss of dominance in the season gift distribution business. Home shopping networks and internet shopping have greatly diminished Santa’s market share. He could not sit idly by and permit further erosion of profits. The purchase of a late model, lighter weight, and streamlined sleigh, has made reindeer downsizing possible. Reduction in reindeer will also lesson airborne emissions to comply with new EPA regulations, and hopefully reduce the unfavorable world-wide press editorials of years past. Tradition still counts for something at the North Pole and management is pleased to announce that Rudolph’s roll will not be diminished. Well, I guess the evening sky spectacle won’t be as big a deal as it used to be. I’m saddened.

[Romans 12:1] From, “Gift of the Magi” a Christmas story written by the famous short story author, O. Henry. Jim and Della, a young married couple, lived in a tiny flat in New York City around the turn of the twentieth century. On the day before Christmas, although they had no extra money to spare, each secretly desired to give the other a special gift. Over the course of the previous year, Della had only managed to save a dollar and eighty-six cents - mostly in pennies. At the suggestion of her friend Maggie, Della reluctantly decided to cut her long, beautiful auburn hair and sell it to a wig maker so that she could afford to buy her beloved husband a proper Christmas gift. Jim, on the other hand, had failed to get his hoped-for Christmas bonus. He left work that day penniless and desperate. So in order to buy Della a gift that would show his love, he pawned his treasured gold watch that had once belonged to his grandfather. On Christmas Eve night, with great fear, Della showed her husband her short locks and gave him his gift - a beautiful gold watch chain to replace his worn leather fob. Shaking his head and almost in tears, Jim confessed to his wife he had hocked his grandfather’s watch to buy her a Christmas present - a pair of jeweled combs for her beautiful flowing hair. At first they thought, “What fools we are!” But then, with powerful irony, O. Henry asserts that, far from being foolish, their extravagant gifts of love to each other made them as wise as the Magi who traveled far to bring their gifts to the Christ child. Their seemingly useless presents turned out to be the priceless gift of love (Matthew 2:1-11). I ask myself, is this Christmas hub-bub all worth it? Are we all fools? The story reminds me that any time we give our best in love to others a miracle of sorts occurs. God has given us the ultimate gift, in love. He gave us His only Son to be sacrificed for the forgiveness of our sins (John 3:16). Give with wisdom and love.

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