Giving AFTER getting

So today is Giving Tuesday. 

Let’s see.... we have a day of giving thanks which (for many) turns into a day of gluttony. Then immediately after being thankful, we turn straight into greed (all in the good name of saving money and selfishly buying gifts for others). Then there is Small Business Saturday (which I am fully supportive of). After all those intense shopping days, thank goodness they give us one down day to recover but that day is still filled with scouring the internet trying to find the other things on your list. Then good ole Cyber Monday where we are back in full swing buying, buying, buying (selfishly for others of course). So today is the day where we give to others in need (right after we just emptied our pockets and filled our homes with things for our loved ones and friends). 

Do we think this day might be due to feeling slightly guilty? I have no idea but I think this is a bit half a** backwards. Why should the people who have much much less wait around to get the leftover scraps from our table? These aren't animals, these are human beings who are made in God's image and deserve to be loved and served just as much as us! 

DISCLAIMER: I am not saying there is anything wrong with enjoying a great meal with your family or getting great deals of gifts for the ones you love… NOT. SAYING. THAT. AT. ALL!! I am also not belittling or ignoring all the wonderful things people do for those in need during the holidays. This is just about perspective. All I am saying is we should give to those who have less the FIRST portions of what we have, not the scraps. Be humble and give to those you don’t know but who you know needs it more than you. Once you have done that, then (I feel) you will be able to make your list with the right perspective and also pick out gifts for your loved ones with that same mindset. Your loved ones may not get the very first things on their list (since you gave to others first) but I think this would be a valuable lesson to all (especially children) that getting gifts is a privilege, not a right (I sound like my dad). 

So I don’t believe it should be Giving Tuesday and there definitely shouldn’t be Black Friday!! There should be Thanksgiving then immediately Giving Friday. Continue with the giving theme. Be thankful for what you have then GIVE to others out of that gratitude and humbleness. Your holidays may have a completely different tone if it is done this way. (Just my theory, but worth a shot). 

 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:31-40)