‘RECEIVE AS YOU WANT TO BE RECEIVED’
Angela Davis recently offered alternative ideas for gift-giving: spend time with loved ones; bake treats; hand-craft items; write a note or letter. At first glance, they may not appear impressive, but they are most precious. We read in 1 Samuel 16:7, “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” To paraphrase the text, my prayer for us is, “Look beyond the outward appearance and look at the heart of the giver.” Our culture judges value based on the biggest, newest, fanciest, priciest, most popular. The best of us can fall victim to gauging value based on these poor standards.
My daughter is 52 years old. From her first Christmas, at a time we could afford only one gift per person, she would get excited over whatever she received. Some years that one gift was, by appearance, not much; it didn’t matter. She would squeal, hug and thank us, often in tears. Today, she’s an executive with a multi-national corporation, travels the world, owns a successful event center and can afford to buy most anything she wants. Yet, her reaction to any gift is the same as when she was a little girl because she values the giver.
In 2007, my friend Paul was down on his luck. He had experienced the worst of marriage problems. Through prayer, counseling and God’s grace, he recovered and rebuilt his family. He worked odd jobs struggling to support his wife and six children. To make matters worse, there would be no money at Christmas. His wife said he was good at storytelling, so he wrote a story. When he finished, he took it to a print shop with only enough money to make copies for his family and a few friends. By appearance, his gift wasn’t much, but it came from his heart. His story quickly spread like wildfire; others wanted a copy. With borrowed money, he self-published his story into book form. By 2008, over 1 million copies had been sold; by 2009, sales surpassed 10 million. It spent 111 weeks on the best seller list between 2008-2010. Today, an estimated 25-30 million copies of The Shack have been sold and a movie by the same name was produced in 2017.
In 2012, Paul spent a day and night with us in Rogers. We sat up until 2am talking and swapping stories. He told of the controversy and criticism aimed at him, yet he holds no ill feelings. He is quick to remind that the book is a work of fiction, yet criticism continues. The truth is you can count the number of critics on your fingers while it would take a calculator to register the number of lives, marriages and families helped through the message of his Christmas gift of love.
This season centers on a familiar story. We know the characters, the events, and the setting that’s displayed in nativity scenes. As a child, I knew nothing of frankincense or myrrh. After learning about them, I pegged the Magi as cheap skates. Who brings spices and incense as gifts? Yes, there is deep theological meaning to the gifts, but a close look at intrinsic values reveals that, in that age, spices and incense were prized more than gold. So, who brings spices and incense as gifts? Good-hearted givers, that’s who!
I’ll end with this thought on gifts and givers. This Christmas season let’s all be good-hearted givers AND good-hearted receivers by showing appreciation to those who give to us, regardless of the gift. The wise king Solomon wrote: “A right word spoken at the right time is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” Let’s distribute generously lots of gold apples in silver bowls to those we love through our words of gratitude. Those who receive them will never forget them.
Remember: you are greatly loved!
–Jackie Chesnutt, Chaplain and Emotional Support Coach for Myers-Davis (12/22/2025)
