I was reading this text recently and it just ... struck me wrong. You know ... in view of the season.
You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. (James 4:2-3)I wonder if we're any different at Christmas. The singular most common response to the question, "What do you want for Christmas?", has always been to detail what you want ... for yourself. Rarely is it what you want for others. You ask primarily "to spend it on your passions."
I wonder what it would look like if we asked for what we wanted for others.
Some time ago we had a guy from China living with us for awhile. Nice guy. But he didn't get American mentality. We took him with us to our big family Christmas gathering. That year it was more of a "white elephant" exchange. Bring something, grab a gift, hope you get something you like. There are chances to steal and all that sort of thing. But my friend didn't get it. When he picked up his gift and opened it, he realized it was a gift my dad would have liked. So, instead of waiting to see if Dad would "steal" it, he walked over and gave it to him. Just gave it to him. Just because he thought Dad would like it. As if that's how Christmas is supposed to work. As if giving is in the spirit of Christmas.
I guess I'm just dreaming. I think it sounds like it would be nice. Ask for something that you think someone else would like. So you can give it to them. Without any real regard for "your passions" or "what do I want?" It sounds nice. I'm just not a particularly practical guy, I guess.
3 comments:
That and nobody would let you get away with it. They'd push for answer for something for you.
That's what I meant. It looks good in theory but won't work out in practice.
It sounds like an interesting idea. Might be worth a try.
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