Gifts aren’t always what they seem

I love giving gifts. It’s one of my favorite things in the world. I don’t like to shop, really, but looking for just the right Christmas present is one of the highlights of my year. And the only thing better is wrapping it up and giving it away, anticipating how much joy the receiver will experience, the way their eyes light up and their faces lift.

In the past, I’ve always been able to find exactly what I wanted to give, mostly because I could afford it. But this year is a little different. This year, finances are much tighter than they have been in the past, and that’s to be expected. When you cut your income by more than 50%, you tighten the belt. And that includes Christmas presents.

The gifts I’m giving away this year are a far cry from what I gave away in past years. They’re certainly more personal because there’s so many more homemade gifts rather than purchased ones. But I always hear that niggling little voice in the back of my head that tells me they aren’t good enough. I mean, how could a cheap little hand-made present communicate how much I love someone?

But as I was arguing with my stupid inner-self a few days ago, I had a thought. Or maybe the Lord gave me a thought. See, Christmas is the time we celebrate that Jesus came to earth, and when He was born, shepherds and wise men and all sorts brought presents and had a great big party. And that party continued for like 30 years, because everyone was so excited that God had sent someone to save them from Rome.

Yeah. That’s the gift people were celebrating. But that wasn’t the gift God gave.

Today’s verses are Isaiah 9:6-7.

For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!

See, the people of Israel believed that God had sent them a political Messiah. Someone who would toss the Romans out of the land and restore freedom to their people. But that wasn’t the reason Jesus came. Jesus came with salvation, yes, but salvation for our souls. Not salvation from a government people didn’t like.

We had to be saved from our own selves. That was the gift God gave us when Jesus came to Earth. But nobody saw that. Jesus came and that’s worth celebrating, but the most precious gift He brought wasn’t what everyone expected.

Don’t make the mistake of seeing a gift at face value. Don’t assume you know its worth. God gave His most precious gift to us when He gave us Jesus, but that gift isn’t what people wanted right at that moment. They wanted salvation from Rome immediately. They wanted a ruler to look impressive, sound impressive, be impressive, but God knew what they needed, just like He knows what we need now.

 

We should always be thankful for the gifts we receive, but even if you get a gift that you don’t understand or don’t know how to use, don’t automatically discount it in your mind. A gift isn’t always what it seems at first. After all, Israel thought Jesus had come to rescue them from Rome, but Jesus actually came to rescue them from sin. Which do you think is worth more?

How assumptions can damage your relationships

Say it’s been a month since you talked to someone. And it’s not someone you know extremely well—more of an acquaintance. After that month passes, do you think any differently of that person? Do the whispers start in your brain that maybe they don’t like you and that’s why they haven’t tried to communicate with you?

I’m an introvert. But being an introvert doesn’t make you shy, though most shy people are introverts. I can be shy when I’m in a new situation or when I’m forced to interact with people I respect a lot. When I’m around people I’m comfortable with, I’ll talk your ear off. But I won’t chase you down to tell you a story. I’m one of those weirdos who waits until you come up to me and express interest in me—then I’ll tell you stories ‘til I’m blue in the face.

But if other people don’t make the effort to talk to me, I don’t even think about pursuing them, unless it’s someone within my really tight circle. And then, it’s not instinctual. I have to remind myself to reach out to people I love. It’s not my default.

For people I’m already very close to, I assume they know I love them. For people I’m only acquaintances with, I assume they don’t like me or I annoy them or they just aren’t interested in me or my life or my perspective.

But there’s an old saying about making assumptions, which I won’t repeat here. But I’m willing to bet most people have heard it. And I was reminded yesterday about the dangers of assuming and how it can cause harm to your relationships.

Shaggy donkey at the Sedgwick County Zoo, Wichita, KS

Today’s verse is Isaiah 11:3.

He will delight in obeying the Lord.
    He will not judge by appearance
    nor make a decision based on hearsay.

So how do you get through life when you don’t know all the answers? Quite honestly, we just won’t know everything, and sometimes we’ll have to guess. But I believe there’s a difference between guessing and assuming. A guess implies that you’ve done your research, that you’ve done your best with a subject that has no real concrete answer, and you’ve made the best choice you could. An assumption implies that you’re just taking something for granted, whether it’s actually true or not.

No one should ever live life that way.

Don’t assume anything. Don’t assume that you’re right. Don’t assume that someone else is wrong. Don’t assume everyone is happy with you. Don’t assume everyone is angry with you.

Now if you’re guessing—if you’re taking the facts and coming to a logical conclusion, that’s different. But assumption means you’re just choosing to believe something without even looking at the facts.

I hadn’t talked to this one person in ages. Ages and ages. And, to be very honest, I was half expecting that this person had decided I wasn’t really worth talking to. And it didn’t bother me too much. We aren’t close friends. So I assumed I just wasn’t important to this person anymore.

Why? No communication. For me, the introvert, I assumed that lack of communication mean this person no longer wanted to communicate with me anymore at all.

Guess what? I assumed wrong.

We ended up in a room together yesterday and had a great conversation with lots of laughing and storytelling and just general good times. I had stored up a list of things to talk about in the off chance I’d run into this person, and I went over them. And we agreed on every single one.

It was just entirely pleasant.

So I spent the rest of the afternoon kicking myself because I know better than to assume anything about relationships. Just because our positions had changed, just because our relationship had changed somewhat, didn’t mean this person didn’t want to talk to me anymore. It just meant the opportunity for us to talk at all had been greatly diminished. But that didn’t mean my opinion or perspective—or even me personally—was any less valuable.

It’s my own foolish insecurities whispering in my ear.

So who is that person in your life who you haven’t spoken to in a long time? Or maybe they haven’t spoken to you? Are you guessing that they aren’t interested in talking to you? Or are you assuming?

If you have definite evidence that they don’t want to be a part of your life, well that’s not an assumption. That’s a pretty fair guess, especially if they’ve made it clear that they want nothing to do with you.

But if you’re just being emotional about it? Be honest. If you’re just taking something personally? Or if you just have made the decision without any evidence? That’s not a good decision. Decisions made that way rarely turn out for the best.

If it’s a relationship you value, reach out to them. If it’s one you aren’t really interested in pursuing, don’t worry about it (why are you even concerned about it?). If you choose to assume something about them that isn’t true, you’re going to cause your friendship to break apart.

Whatever you choose to do, don’t assume. Don’t take anything for granted. Life is too short and friendships are too precious to risk because you’re scared of the truth.