But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. -Matthew 6:3-4 (NIV)

Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” -Mark 10:21 (NIV)

In the 1990s, Saturday Night Live comedian Dana Carvey played a popular character called The Church Lady, a fire and brimstone Protestant who “discovered” Satan in just about anything…even by transposing the letters in “Santa.” While many do argue that Santa Claus has nothing to do with Christmas, I found it helpful to explain to my little boy how he is connected with Christmas, and especially Jesus.

St. Nicholas was a boy born into a wealthy Mediterranean family, but lost his parents at a young age to due to an epidemic. Inspired by the words of Jesus, where He spoke of giving not only all of what we had to the poor, but in a manner where one hand did not know what the other was doing. Coming from a wealthy family, Nicholas had much to give. Often to avoid his own persecution and that of his recipients, he would give in secret by placing money in the shoes of those who would leave them out for him.

Nicholas was persecuted and imprisoned for his devout faith, then later attended the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325, and died 18 years later. Over the centuries, the figure of Santa Claus was mixed with the actual St. Nicholas…and we still celebrate the fusion today.

So I let my son know that to do right to please God is the reason to for living right, not getting presents from Santa Claus. I tell him that Santa works obediently for the Lord, and neither he nor the gifts he gives are the reason for “being good.” And we give because our hearts overflow with the love God showed us when He gave us the gift of Jesus, who gives us everlasting life and redemption.

It is easy for the Gospel to get lost in the materialistic shuffle of Christmas, and for a giant, gift-giving elf to overshadow baby Jesus…unless we make sure the young ones know that Santa was insipired by and lives in obedience to God…just as we should.

Christmas is a time to remember what we can give, rather than thinking about what we will receive…and Santa can remind us of that as he points us back to Jesus, the greatest giver of all.

And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. -Luke 6:34 (NIV)

My mother harbor decades of resentment and indignation in her heart, and I’ve heard her voice it over the years. Since the 1980s, she took the initiative to sponsor and pay for housing for several of our relatives (both her and my father’s side). While our family struggled, the families she sacrificed to get to the United States thrived. But, she often would talk about how they did not give back to help the family that helped them have a new life of prosperity here in the States.

Even during and after my father’s funeral, my mother vented to me about how her brother-in-law (my father’s brother) and his family didn’t give a single penny to help with funeral costs. She fumed over how she–not my father–took the pains to sponsor them over to the United States, and this is how they repay her. (We actually received quite a helpful sum from friends, other family, and coworkers!)

If you give with expectation of repayment, or give with conditions regarding how the gift is spent or used, what kind of gift have you really given?

The gift that Jesus gave us on the cross is one we can never repay or equal. It is freely given, and is our choice to take it. It is not one that is conditional on us living a sinless life. It is one given sacrificially out of love, for our salvation and to God’s glory.

I knew that with the passing of my father so fresh in our minds and hearts, this wasn’t the time to talk about letting go of any expectations of repayment. I pray that through the grace walk of believers in her life (and besides me, there are very few!), she may see a glimpse of an eternal gift of far greater value than any we can give or receive here–and how it was freely given out of love.

Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses. -Proverbs 28:27 (NIV)

Ever pulled up to a street corner and pretended to look like you couldn’t see the person begging for food or money next to you? Ever decided in your head that you wouldn’t give money because they were lazy, conniving, or just going to spend it on drugs or alcohol?

I have. There was even a time when I grudgingly agreed to help a man, and then grouchily decided what he could have to eat from a fast food menu.

Well, the Lord woke me up in 2013, and things were never the same. Because we do all we do for the Lord, there is never enough we can’t do for those who are lesser than us, to His glory. To meet the gaze of the poor, and to give them what we have, is to do what the Lord has done for us: He gave us life, and will give us life in the next world.

We do not have to worry about where our next meal will come from, or whether we will have shelter over our heads, or whether we’ll be subject to all the dangers that come from living on the street. We are so, so blessed. We can trust that if we give our all for the Lord, He will take care of us abundantly. Try it and see.