Luke 12:15 warns, “Beware! Don’t always be wishing for what you don’t have. For real life and real living are not related to how rich we are.”

Its black Friday, the day we justify spending hundreds of dollars in order to save hundreds of dollars to give people gifts they want but don’t need. I know, Christmas is about giving. That’s the point though, focusing on giving rather than upon getting. Easy for a few, difficult for most of us.

This annual event called Christmas is the celebration of God coming to earth to live among us as one of us in order to die for us so that He could spend eternity with us.

God the Father gave His most precious possession, God the Son. God bankrupt heaven to buy back a people in rebellion against Him since the first man and first woman walked upon the earth.

This same God gave His life on the cross to purchase our forgiveness having satisfied the Father’s requirement for justice by surrendering His perfect life as a replacement for humanity’s disobedience. God is all about giving. He so loved the world that He gave.

This is what we want to focus on today, at Christmas and every day. Giving.

Life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions. We see regularly the wealthy and famous living miserable lives because they thought money and its opportunities would bring ultimate happiness.

Only loving relationships can fulfill our deepest needs beginning with a right relationship with our loving Creator.

As we enter Christmas by obtaining everyone’s wish list that we love lets try and focus on loving everyone on our list more abundantly through less stuff and more touch.

Let’s focus on the hearts of people rather than possessions for people.

Let’s give generously, first of ourselves, sacrificing our own will for the benefit of others just as God gave Himself for us.

Christmas will be a lot more meaningful if we can separate from its consumerism focusing instead on our relationships.