Whats in a Gift?

For those of you who are fans of the television show The Big Theory, you know that the character Sheldon Cooper is a genius with zero social skills.  The show plays up this fact in the interactions with his friends and coworkers on the show.  One episode he was blackmailed into throwing giving his roommate Leonard a surprise birthday party.  As he was contemplating what to get Leonard, he was perplexed, because the nicer the gift he would give, it would be expected that Lenard would give the equivalent price gift on a later date.  So this got me thinking, what’s a gift?  I have a gut feeling that most of us give gifts with strings attached, whether we realize it or not.  We give a gift in hoping to get something done for us in return on a later date.  Or, we use it to repay someone who has done something nice for us. 

            One of the books I have been reading by Miroslav Volf in his book Free of Charge.  Through out the book, Volf makes the argument that when we give gifts with strings attached; at best we are coming across as self absorbent people who only give gifts to get something.  These type of people tend to run people over to get what they want.  The only way they do something, is if it benefits them.  If we go to the other extreme, we are thieves, stealing what does not truly belong to us.   Our motives in giving our time, money, giftings isn’t to benefit the other person, but it is for self gain.  The only reason we give these gifts is to make ourselves look better and because we are greedy.  The other persons benefit becomes secondary to what we want or what our perceived needs are, or how it can benefit us in some way.  The benefits could be money, promotions, to cast shame on a not so delightful coworker or family member. 

            So the final question is, what is a gift and how is one suppose to give and receive one.  I know this is easier said than done, but I think the first item we need to consider is what is our motivation for giving the gift?  Is our motivation for self promotion, or scratching their back, so our back can get scratched at a later time.  Gift giving with strings attached will always s eventually lead to bad consequences. It is buying the spouse flowers so we can get out of a predicament later.  The second idea, does this gift build the other person up, or bring them down.  Does the gift help them with their relationship with God or does it take it away from God.  The third thing, is that giving good gifts and grace is the same thing.  Both gifts and grace is something that is given that the receiver does not achieve through works, but is based on the character of the one who gives those things.  God is the giver of all good and perfect gifts, and its not what we have done to earn those things, but it is who He is.  We can never earn God’s love, but He gives it because He wants to be in right relationship with us.  Now this love has boundaries for our own protection and even boundaries are a gift.  The net time you give a give a gift, is it with strings attached, or is it for the betterment of the other person and to see them grow and mature..  The gifts with no stings attached are the best gifts to give and to receive, but also the hardest to give and to receive.  Because we get nothing in return and we did nothing to earn that gift. 

Being Reconciled

            I am a fan of the television show, How I Met Your Mother, and the whole premise of the show is the story of how one of the main characters (Ted Mosbey) tells the story to his future children of how he met their mom.  One of the running themes that runs through out the show is his on again off again relationship with Robin Scherbatsky.  We know from the intro of the show that Scherbatsky is not Ted’s wife, and in the current season, Scherbatsky is engaged to Barney.  The last episode, I was it with the reality that this show has eschalogical tendencies to it.  There is the whole idea of being in the present here and now, and still having future hope.  It is something that we are waiting for, but it is not here yet. 

            As a Christian we have this future hope of God coming in and not only making all things right, but making all things new.  It could be a process of waiting for God to come set up His Kingdom whether here on earth or to take us away to paradise.  This is a cool idea, but there are two things that are troubling if we are waiting for this to happen.  The first one is that we just sit on our hands and pray that God comes quickly to kick out all the bad guys.  Secondly, we develop an escapist theology, and we hope and pray for God to come and take us out of this mess.  It is a feeling that the world isn’t anything more than a hell hole and isn’t worth saving.  But, there is good news, there is another option, and it is not the easiest option, but in the end, it is the best option and something we are commanded to do.  We are called to be priest to a broken and dark world. 

Author and theologian NT Wright gives us a third option in His book Evil and the Justice of God. 

The Church is not to be so focused on being the community of the saved, but the church is a community of those who being redeemed through the cross, are now to be a kingdom and priest to serve God and to reign on the earth

            What NT Wright is not only calling Christians on an individual basis, but the church as a whole is to stop using Christianity as fire insurance.  Our faith is more than just accepting Jesus as our Savior and trolling along in life until we die or He comes back.  What NT Wright is saying is that our salvation is a work in progress.  Before I go on, I am not saying that our salvation and God’s love is based on our works, but our works should be based on what Christ redemptive work on the cross.  The cross takes care of our past and provides hope for a future.  The cross is the power of God in not only providing salvation, but hope to a broken world. 

            Just as Christ is our intercessor before God, Christ has given us that challenge to be that to a broken world.  The Lords prayer tells us Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  God’s kingdom is providing redemption and reconciliation by and through the cross to His creation.  Not only does the power of the cross provide reconciliation with God and us, in which we are to work out in fear and trembling, but it also provides reconciliation with us and others.  As Christians, we are not to sit on the sidelines watching the world go somewhere in a hand basket waiting for God to show up.  Not only is God already in the world, but He is working in us and through us.    We have the power of the resurrected Savior, so why not use it and share it with everyone. 

            To finish up with the How I Met Your Mother theme, God gives us a future hope that He will come again and we are the Bridegroom.  All will be complete and right in the world, when Christ returns.  In the meantime, we are called to live our lives in the here and now.  In essence because we have a future hope, it should change how we live our lives today.