Throughout the year, we present an article in the bulletin each week on a variety of topics, written by a member of our Parish staff on a rotating basis.

From The Coordinator of Inclusion, Diversity, & Equity

by Corey Shorter

One of the kindest, and selfless gestures we can do, is to simply “give a gift”. My wife would constantly remind me, how important gifts were to her. Of course I would give gifts on holidays, birthdays, and special occasions, but it was the area of the “just because gifts” that I lacked in. I had this distorted view on unnecessary giving. I had always looked at gift giving as an added chore and really didn’t see the excitement of it. It was only until I changed my perspective on “gifts” when I truly learned to appreciate the selfless gesture.

One of the things I had to put into perspective was God’s view on gift giving. In the book of Corinthians the scripture tells us that “God Loves a cheerful giver” So when I actually look deeper into the scripture, its telling us that God not only wants us to give, but to be happy while giving. Often times we think that the only gifts worth giving is money or material things but God tells us to be generous with our time, talent and treasures. 1 Peter 4:9-10 says, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms”.

We give because God first gave to us. Outside of the “gift of life” he gave us something even better, his son. In John 3:16 it says, “For God so loves the world that he gave his only son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life”.  God set the standard for giving. Even though we can never repay God for what he has given to us, we can surely live our lives in a way that will glorify him in everything we do, especially in the area of “giving gifts”.