What do you call a gift that is never used? I try to make a spiritual application to this dilemma in this post from December 20, 2006.
As I do each Christmas, I feel overwhelmed; people just keep giving me things. While I would never have thought to give a gift to a teacher or coach, the kids at our school have no such mental restriction. I did notice something today; all my gifts but one are from females so maybe that is the reason it never crossed my mind. My presents were a wide array of thoughtful gestures from ties to coffee cups, from an ice pack to a tea kettle, from candy to cookies. The newest trend in Christmas shopping is the gift card. I was the fortunate recipient of numerous cards from a wide variety of establishments:
McDonalds
Borders
Target
Macy's
Starbucks
Someone cared enough to purchase gift cards for me and bring more enjoyment into my life. There is one catch. The cards must be redeemed. They can sit in my billfold until they break in two but unless I actually use them for their intended purpose, the gifts are, in a sense, wasted. Would they still have been offered if the giver knew they would not be cashed in? Hurt feelings aside, it is a huge issue in the financial world. Economists estimate that six percent of the money on gift cards will never be cashed in, a figure that approaches $5 billion. Or put another way, roughly one dollar per person on earth currently that Jesus died for. He purchased the gift and He made the offer. We all make the decision to redeem this most precious present or leave it unclaimed for eternity. It's bought and paid for but there is an expiration day coming; we just don't know when it is. What's in your wallet?
Applicable quote of the day:
"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a gift and not giving it."
William Arthur Ward
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
McDonalds
Borders
Target
Macy's
Starbucks
Someone cared enough to purchase gift cards for me and bring more enjoyment into my life. There is one catch. The cards must be redeemed. They can sit in my billfold until they break in two but unless I actually use them for their intended purpose, the gifts are, in a sense, wasted. Would they still have been offered if the giver knew they would not be cashed in? Hurt feelings aside, it is a huge issue in the financial world. Economists estimate that six percent of the money on gift cards will never be cashed in, a figure that approaches $5 billion. Or put another way, roughly one dollar per person on earth currently that Jesus died for. He purchased the gift and He made the offer. We all make the decision to redeem this most precious present or leave it unclaimed for eternity. It's bought and paid for but there is an expiration day coming; we just don't know when it is. What's in your wallet?
Applicable quote of the day:
"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a gift and not giving it."
William Arthur Ward
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
1 comment:
i love the comparison you make from the gift cards to the gift that Jesus gave us - we have the ability to choose.
i also enjoyed the comments your students wrote in study of the wonderful scripture in Numbers... can't read that w/o thinking of the song! :) we're exploring the role of mothers and women in our ladies Bible class - i think i'll take these and share with them!
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