During the holidays, many people give gifts to others. If you have visited a Walmart recently, you know that people are scrambling to buy presents, food, and decorations. While commercialism has taken away the meaning to most holidays, we still like the idea of giving gifts to people. When I was growing up, we received packages wrapped in the newspaper comic section. (I still prefer that to fancy wrapping paper.) As I grew older, I began to see the joy of giving gifts to others. It is nice to give to someone and then see their appreciation.
Have you ever wondered if the Bible talks about giving gifts. I know that some point to the gifts of the wisemen after Jesus’ birth. But does the Bible actually give us any insight into giving gifts around the holidays? Let’s take a moment to look at what the Bible says about gifts and see what we can learn. Perhaps our study will help us through the holiday shopping madness.
- What does it say?
Various people gave gifts to others. Abraham gave gifts to his other sons (Gen. 25:1-6). Jewish people willingly brought gifts to God (1 Chron. 29:6-8). King Ahasuerus celebrated his new marriage by giving gifts to his officials (Esther 2:17-18). King Nebuchadnezzar gave gifts to Daniel for revealing his dream (Dan. 2:46-48). The wisemen gave gifts to young Jesus (Matt. 2:9-11). The church at Macedonia gave gifts to the needy despite their own poverty (2 Cor. 8:1-4). - What does it mean?
A gift can express love for others (Gen. 25:6; 2 Cor. 8:3-4).
Although the bulk of the inheritance was given to Isaac, Abraham made sure to give gifts to his other sons. He did this because he loved them and wanted them to have something to help them as they moved away to start their own lives. This was his way of showing his love for them.
The church in Macedonia heard about a need in another church. Although they were poor themselves, they gave more than they were able to help those who were in need. This was their way of showing love toward other Christians.
While the situations are quite different (physical family vs. spiritual family), you can see the love expressed in both situations. Abraham expressed his love for his sons by giving them gifts. The poor church people expressed their love for other Christians by giving them gifts. I am sure that those who received the gifts felt the love expressed by those who gave.
A gift can express appreciation for others (Esther 2:18; Dan. 2:48).
When King Ahasuerus married Esther, he held a feast in her honor. All of his officials and servants were invited, and he chose to give gifts to them. This was considered generous of the king. He probably did this because he was happy but also because he wanted to show appreciation for the work the people did for him.
When King Nebuchadnezzar could not remember his dream or what it meant, he was anxious about it. He promised gifts to whomever could reveal the dream and its interpretation. Nobody could do it, until God revealed it to Daniel. After telling him the dream and what it meant, Daniel was honored by the king with many gifts and a promotion. He did this because he appreciated what Daniel had done.
One king gave gifts servants when he found a new wife. The other king gave gifts to a servant because of what he had done. In both cases, the king showed appreciation for the people who had helped him. I would imagine that those who received the gifts felt that they were appreciated by their king.
A gift can express worship for God (1 Chron. 29:6-9; Matt. 2:11).
When David began collecting supplies to build the first temple, some of the leaders willingly offered their own gifts to God. These gifts included gold, silver, bronze, iron, and precious stones. These went a long way in supplying what was needed to build the temple. While the text doesn’t give their reasons for giving these things, they did give willingly toward the project. I would imagine that they were as excited about building God’s temple as David was. Because their gifts would be used in building the temple, their gifts expressed what they thought about God. To them, He was worthy of those gifts.
The wisemen followed the star to the house where young Jesus was. When they entered the house, they worshiped Jesus and offered gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These were costly items that would later come in handy for the family’s trip to Egypt. But what motivated these wisemen to give such costly gifts? Notice that their gifts were given after they fell down and worshiped Jesus. To them, He was worthy of those gifts.
The leaders gave gifts to help build the first temple. The wisemen gave gifts to honor the newborn king. Both gave their gifts as a tangible expression of their worship of God. They gave because they felt God was worthy. - How does it apply?
You might be tempted to think that our application has something to do with giving gifts. While gifts are a nice thing to give and receive, I think that these passages point us to the thought behind the gifts more than the gifts themselves.
Express your love to others.
Abraham loved his other sons. While we don’t know much about them, we do know that he loved them enough to give them gifts. The church at Macedonia loved the people in the other church and showed their love by giving more than they were able.
We should follow their example. We should express our love for our family members. We should express our love for our church family as well. And that includes those who are outside of our own local church. How can we express our love for others? Gifts are nice but so are kind words, letters, visits, and help. Can you think of creative ways to show your love in words and actions?
Express your appreciation for others.
Kings Ahasuerus and Nebuchadnezzar were probably not believers when they were mentioned in the Bible. But both are good examples of showing appreciation to others. Both appreciated their servants and expressed that by giving them gifts.
There is something about being appreciated that goes a long way. When your boss tells you that you did a good job, it motivates you. When a husband thanks his wife for what she does around the house, it is appreciated. Gifts are nice but so are words that are matched by an attitude of appreciation. Can you think of ways to express your appreciation for others?
Express your worship to God.
David’s officials gave large amounts of materials to help with the construction of the temple because they believed that God was worthy of their worship. The wisemen gave costly gifts to Jesus because they believed that He was worthy of their worship. Both expressed their worship by giving gifts.
We often put worship in the box of singing especially when we are in the church building. But worship can be expressed in other ways as well. We can worship God with our attitude, words, witnessing, and gifts. As we do so, we are showing how valuable He is to us. Can you think of ways to express your worship to God?
Conclusion
Something interesting happened as we were studying gifts in the Bible. We discovered six instances where gifts were given, but our applications didn’t push for the giving of gifts. Why was that? There is something more important than the gift. It is the thought behind it. As you consider how to show your love and appreciation to others and your worship to God, remember that it begins with your heart. Love God. Love others. Express it in some way this week.