Christmas Every Week: Giving
Arnold Kellett’s poem reminds us of what makes life worth living.
The world goes mad at Christmas,
Forgets its strife and sorrow;
And spends and spends and spends again,
As if there's no tomorrow.
More money spent at Christmas
Than throughout all the year
On cards and food and glossy gifts,
On spirits, wine and beer.
And though it's true a little, too,
Is given to the needy,
More is spent upon ourselves
And affluence makes us greedy.
Yes. Buy me this, and buy me that
I'll buy you something back:
A self-indulgent present-swap
For all who've got the knack.
And yet, how odd it is that God
Should give - and risk such loss:
Birth in a stable, life on the roads,
And death on a cruel Cross.
But that, of course, is giving:
It puts our gifts to shame;
For God so loved he gave himself
And flesh and blood became.
And came to show that here below
What makes life worth the living
Is not some lottery win of wealth,
But glad and gracious giving.
