Christmas! Time for late night shopping, with the sparkly lights and hustle and bustle. One of my favourite things about this time of year. But how much are we held by the consumerist side of Christmas? And what does God think about it all?

A few years ago I came across an amazing Bible verse in Zechariah chapter 8 which really challenged how I think about it all. It’s verse 6 and says, “even now in your holy festivals, you don’t think about me [God] but only of pleasing yourselves.” Now Christmas is most definitely a religious festival in my mind, however much the commercialism has pulled away from that; it is after all the time when we celebrate Jesus’ birth. But the question is how much are we thinking about God in all of this? And what would God have us do over the festive season? Christmas is certainly a time of generosity, we buy gifts for others rather than ourselves, and that’s a great thing. It’s good to let the people we love in our life know we appreciate them, and giving gifts is one way of doing that.

Thinking about others and about God’s point of view, leads us to think of those in the world who won’t be having anywhere near as much as us this Christmas time. Almost half the world’s population live on less than a dollar a day, that 61p! In our generosity this Christmas, let’s not get so caught up in the hype that we forget how lucky we are, let’s remember those who have so much less. And the great news is that there are so many inventive ways to do this!

A huge amount of charities now run alternative Christmas catalogues with gifts you can buy family and friends which actually get sent abroad, including locally run Hand of Love (see August’s Hall of Fame for more about this great project). Through schemes like Oxfam Unwrapped, and Christian Aid’s Present Aid you can buy your mum a mosquito net, to protect a family in Africa from deadly malaria. Little brothers who like dirt and bugs could get a wormery – this can change compost into rich fertiliser, turning waste ground into a productive farm. Safe water, 60 bars of soap, health check-ups, each of these cost under a tenner and make a huge difference towards reducing childhood illnesses when according to UNICEF, 25000 children die each day because they live in poverty and can’t afford these simple things. Why not club together as a youth group, or with a few friends, and get something random! Instead of spending £5 on Secret Santa gifts among yourselves, you could all build a bog, or buy a cow! Make sure you let everyone know they won’t actually get the cow, but one family somewhere in the world will have fresh milk, transport to market, and of course lots of lovely manure to grow great crops!

Why not go charity shop hunting for a few final presents. You can find some really great novelty gifts and knick knacks while knowing that you’ve enabled much more great work to happen.

So have a great Christmas this year! Let’s enjoy showing our appreciation of family and friends, but remember not just to think only of pleasing ourselves, but to remember God’s love and those who have so little.

PS. If you want to find out more about alternative Christmas gifts why not check out these websites:
http://www.presentaid.org/page/home
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/oxfam-unwrapped
http://www.handsoflove.org.uk/main/page_gifts_of_love.html
And for some quick facts about poverty in the world see: http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats