Last year I attempted to examine the real reason for the “commercialization” of Christmas. Today I am going to consider the act of giving and why such a thing makes us happy.
If you plumb the depths of any action or profession, you will always find a great paradox (or several of them) that seems to contradict or nearly negate the value of the thing done. A simple example: Those who work in medicine know that despite all their efforts for health, the end for each patient is death.
This is not to say that healthcare therefore is useless or should be eliminated, but it does put the total operation in a different perspective. This type of thinking is philosophical, of course, something we have way too little of, which is why our society continues to suffer so deeply on very many fronts.
Well, the financial planning field is no different. So much of our time is dedicated to saving and security and future goals and wealth….things that the client believes will make them happy (or, at least, feel better). But each year Christmas comes and offers a corrective to that. Instead of saving, the person wants to spend. However, it is not the spending that is satisfying, but rather the satisfaction of another person’s needs that brings joy to our hearts.
If anyone ever needed a contrary proof to the proposition that “wealth makes you happy” all he need do is witness one Christmas where someone will spend with reckless abandon in the hope of showing true love to another. Further, it is not the thing purchased that brings the happiness, but rather the sheer joy of giving.
Why is this? Perhaps the closest we can come to an answer is to see that in giving we come as close as we will ever be to Him that gave us everything. I am sure there are other attributes that more closely resemble the divine, but giving, that out-pouring of oneself for another, has to rank up there.
Truly, giving (our ability of self-donation) is a gift itself and is one of the ways we reflect the One who created us. “Give, and it shall be given to you.” Luke 6:38.
Merry Christmas and God bless you!