Why Do We Give Gifts At Christmas?

Have you ever sat down and really thought about this? I mean, I know we all grew up with having presents stuffed beneath the tree and so why not keep the tradition going, right? I mean, it is pretty fun to go out, shop, wrap and open gifts for hours on Christmas morning. Indeed, I may be so bold to say it is most people's favorite holiday. But why do we give gifts, really?

A few things come to mind:


* God blesses us with gifts and talents when we are born.

 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 1 Cor 12

Of course not all gifts are spiritual. I am thankful for the gift of writing, not singing (I can't hold a tune or even dance), the gift of childbearing, patience, love, painting and being forgiving (although I learned that one just recently;)


* God blesses those who are obedient to the commandments.

 There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—
  And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. Doc and Cov 130:20-21

Really He blesses everyone with light and life, but there are special blessings for those who keep His commandments.


* God gave us the greatest gift of all, His Son

¶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

There is no greater gift!

* We want to give gifts like God gives us
Being parents ourselves we want to give good gifts to our children like God has given to us. Who doesn't want to bless their kids with good things that we know they would love! And kids know, thanks to Santa, that they better be good or else they get coal, right? And so, like God, we too want to bless for good deeds and good hearts.


And lastly, the obvious... The wise men brought gifts to Jesus 

I found a great site that explained a few things about the gifts the wise men brought Christ. I have always wondered why they brought the gifts they did. Why gold, frankincense and myrrh?

GOLD- This carries obvious significance. It's precious and worthy across all cultures and times. It's a gift fit for royalty. It says to the Christ child, You will be a King

FRANKINCENSE- Ancient people burned frankincense, believing it to carry their prayers to heaven. Its use as incense illustrates His role as our Priest.

MYRRH-  As an embalming ointment it signified that He was born to Die for the world. In fact, Myrrh was one of the burial spices of Jesus (John 19:39).

This was really interesting to me. I love the significance each one carried. Especially the myrrh. They knew of the prophesies and they honored Him at his birth for the sacrifice He would one day make. They also recognized that He would be our teacher. And they respected His noble birthright as King of the Jews with gold as they would have for all royalty. I am also certain that all of these precious gifts were a great blessing to Joseph and Mary when they needed to flee to Egypt shortly after.

But what hit me the most when I was reading about the wise men was how it read it in the scriptures that they came, not just to bring gifts, but to worship Him.

"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." Matt 2:1-2

 "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
 ¶And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh." Matt 2:10-11  

What is our emphasis at Christmas? Are we worshiping or just celebrating a fun time of year with parties and gifts? I mean no judgment here... But there is a clash.

The shepherds also came to see Jesus at His birth, yet they brought no gift. But they did go bear testimony of what they had witnessed.

"And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them."  Luke 2:17-20

The angels sang for Him.

So, what kinds of gifts should we give then? Should we give gifts at this time of year at all? Who should we be giving gifts to? How can we make more of an effort to worship rather than just celebrate the holiday? These aren't questions that I can answer for anyone other than myself, since it requires guidance from God, I suppose.

But in all our gift giving and celebrations there are few things we can remember: we can/should use the talents that God has given us, choose to live obedient lives, share the gift of His Son with others so they too can know of Him, give good gifts to the poor and praise Him. I wonder if we can replace much of what we buy with gifts like these. I am sure it would make a huge difference in our world:)

May you find peace and joy in worshiping Christ this season and throughout the year!
Merry Christmas and God Bless