I found an interesting poll that was done by onenewsnow.com regarding what shoppers are doing this year to control their Christmas spending.

I started thinking about how out of touch with reality people can get around Christmas time. I guess if you have an abundance of money all year long, then it would be alright to go on a shopping spree. However, the majority of the people I know live paycheck to paycheck all year long, and then somehow justify buying presents for everyone they know at the end of the year. Why?

I think it all boils down to the fact that we know someone is going to buy us something, so we feel obligated to buy something for them in return. Then we have this massive chain reaction of gift buying. Sure, there are people that like to buy gifts because they are a giving person, but is that really the reason we have become delusional at Christmas time?

What if everyone just said, “instead of gifts for everyone this year, I’m going to give myself to Jesus. I’m going to do what He wants me to do. Maybe I’ll go spend some time with the homeless, maybe I’ll help my mom around the house more, maybe I’ll give more of my time to my children, or maybe I’ll donate more time to the church.”

God wants our time, not our gifts. Is it possible that maybe people also appreciate time more than material things? If you don’t have the money to give this year, don’t stress about it. There are many other ways to give besides swiping a credit card for someone.

If you do have the money, and you think you are giving for the right reasons, then I challenge you; give to someone this year that you know will not be getting you a gift back.