Gifts that don’t need wrapping

December 4, 2006

By William E. Richardson

“God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7, NKJV).

We give and receive a lot of gifts during the Christmas season. And we’re always looking for the right gift. You wouldn’t buy a skateboard for a toddler. You wouldn’t buy a bicycle for someone in a wheelchair. You wouldn’t give a comb to a man with no hair.

There are however a few gifts that are always appropriate. They’re gifts that don’t even need wrapping. Among the gifts worth receiving, they’re some of the most highly valued, especially during the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season.

Consider three gifts anyone can give. They’re gifts you can afford. They’re also gifts no December should be without.

A friendly smile isn’t only for family and friends. The person who waits on you at the post office needs the gift. So does the cashier at the store. The list goes on. To a total stranger, your warm smile could be a ray of sunshine in their week of gloomy problems and unpleasant people.

When you pause in your busy schedule and offer a listening ear to someone else’s cares, you give them a gift. That simple act tells someone you consider whatever they have to say to be worth your time. They know you have places to go and plenty to do, yet you make time for them.

Far more priceless than the first two is the gift of forgiveness. It’s not as casual as a smile, nor as momentary as a listening ear. Its merit is in it being a gift that lasts. Part of the joy of giving it is that laying aside your hurt or upset feelings will lighten your own load this season.

Think of other gifts this month that don’t need colorful paper and a bright bow. More than you know, these three are at the top of a lot of people’s wish lists. In giving a friendly smile, a listening ear, or forgiveness you’ll also be giving gifts that give back.

William E. Richardson is senior pastor of Afton (Iowa) Assembly of God.