After offering up a quick prayer or pondering their plight for a brief moment do we then simply delve into our annual American delicacies and tear into our countless gifts? We always hear that "it's the thought that counts", right? But what if we could do more. We, as Americans, and especially as Christians are really good at talking about the world's problems. We can spend hours in a coffee shop chatting with our friends about Darfur, world hunger, abortion, domestic violence, sexual victimization, and those less fortunate than ourselves. But what if we actually did something about it? What if, instead of asking for a new TV for Christmas, you suggested money be sent to a charity of your choice. Instead of buying someone a Starbucks gift card, maybe I could go online to gospelforasia.org or a similar site and purchase chickens or rabbits for a single mother living in poverty (they will then send the giver a card that they can give to whoever would have gotten the gift so that they know what their gift is doing for someone in a third world country). What if we did?
This is not at all meant to be condemning or accusatory of anyone. We are all guilty of it. This is also not my attempt at getting everyone I know to fore-go all holiday celebrations. It's just that we live in a nation and society that loves to talk about our faith, our divine rights, and to discuss ways of solving the world's problems. But just imagine if we all thought of at least one thing that we were willing to sacrifice for someone else. OK, imagine actually doing it. Making that small sacrifice. Now imagine, for a moment, just how far that could go.
