Back to our original question, should we give gifts to each other at Christmas or not? Every family has their own convictions, and I know there are many who refrain from doing this, and I respect their opinions. We are all led differently. However, I personally do not believe there is anything wrong in giving gifts. I think God delights in the spirit of giving. I think He loves watching families give gifts to one another. The spirit of giving comes from God.
I think it is sad to take away the excitement, enthusiasm, and anticipation of children giving to their parents and their siblings. Children love to give more than receive and why should we take this God-given instinct away from them?
When our children were growing, we didn't give them money to buy gifts. They had to earn every penny so that it was truly a sacrificial gift from themselves We didn't pay our children for basic household tasks during the year, but at Christmas time we paid them for extra tasks that were not usually on the weekly schedule. It was exciting to get my windows cleaned and other forgotten tasks accomplished. The children earned their money and I ended up with a spring-cleaned home! (My, I could do with them all back at home!). I notice Serene is doing the same thing this week with her children.
The excitement is in the air again this Christmas. Arden sold an old car that was lying around and spent it all on his family. In fact, that wasn't enough. He and some of the cousins found some old heavy machinary for scrap metal lying around the land (how they ever lifted it onto the trailer we can't imagine). They cajoled Granddad to take them off to sell it. It's great to see them earning money any way they can--all for the joy of giving to others. They don't keep one last cent to themselves.
Love from Nancy