From Giving to God...to giving to each other!

By the end of this week, Thanksgiving will be over and our focus will change to Christmas. It is a shame that we have lost the intent of what these holidays were designed for. Giving thanks to God for His bountiful blessings and celebrating the greatest gift the world has ever seen; the birth of our Lord and Savior.

Could God be using this economy to teach us another valuable lesson? With limited funds and a very uncertain economic future it might be time to skip the "shop til you drop" commercialism of the holiday season and refocus our attention on Christmas and the the birth of our Lord and Savior.

I would really like to hear your thoughts on how we can do this, but first let me finish up last weeks' question about tithing if your spouse disagrees. I do not believe God wants us to divide our homes over this issue. Remember God wants our hearts and not our money, He already has our money. Our tithing is just an indication that He has our hearts. (Matthew 6:21)

I think that the principle that applies to an unbelieving spouse in the faith outlined in 1 Peter 3:1,2 also applies to the unbelieving spouse as it relates to tithing. I feel the believing spouse should state their case, based on the the Word of God, and let the Holy Spirit work in the unbelieving spouse's heart.

One last comment before we leave tithing. Malachi 3:10 says "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this", says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it". (NIV) This is the only place in the Bible God tells us to test Him. I would encourage you to take Him up on this offer.

OK, now to move from giving to God to giving to each other.

Here is the question for this week. In light of the current bad economy, what are some suggestions for sharing the celebration of Christmas on a limited budget? I look forward to hearing your ideas and experiences in this area.