Shoebox bears

“God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.” (2 Corinthians 9:7 MSG)

‘Tis the season…when many people are packing shoebox-sized packages with toys and gifts for children. Samaritan’s Purse* will be sending these boxes to kids all over the world who will receive them and be offered the chance to receive the Greatest Gift of All – Jesus. (Yes, I know it sounds cliche or cheesy, but it is still true.) Today I received a blog post that described one family’s giving tradition, and then closed with this:

“We dwell in dark days—I needn’t tell you that. One thing has not darkened, though: the effect of bringing joy to others. The self-absorption blasted across today’s pop culture had less currency in an era when Salvation Army kettles bountifully dotted business thresholds and adults worked routinely in civic, school, and community groups to accomplish acts of charity year round.

“Yes, I sentimentalize the past (a privilege earned over time). Nonetheless, the question has not changed: are we givers or takers, to use the language of my childhood? To no surprise, poets have tackled the same question, coming up with striking ways of describing the polarity. The neatly framed poem below has helped Wisconsin-born poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1850-1919 retain a small degree of fame today:

Getters and Givers

There are two kinds of people on earth to-day;
Just two kinds of people, no more I say.

Not the sinner and saint, for it’s well understood,
The good are half bad and the bad are half good.

Not the rich and the poor, for to rate a man’s wealth,
You must first know the state of his conscience and health.

Not the humble and proud, for in life’s little span,
Who puts on vain airs is not counted a man.

Not the happy and sad, for the swift flying years
Bring each man his laughter and each man his tears.

No, the two kinds of people on earth I mean,
Are the people who lift and the people who lean.

Wherever you go, you will find the earth’s masses
Are always divided in just these two classes.

And, oddly enough, you will find, too, I ween,
There’s only one lifter to twenty who lean.

In which class are you? Are you easing the load
Of overtaxed lifters, who toil down the road?

Or are you a leaner, who lets others share
Your portion of labor, and worry and care.

“Poets of yore rarely minced words. So here’s to all those whose fragrant words hold mirrors-in-verse before our faces. And here’s to those who devote themselves regularly to lifting others up, like the Elder family, whose handiwork brought about this sweet film.” – Dr. Carol Reynolds

Check out this video about the boxes, made from the teddy bear’s perspective:

Today, as we quickly approach the holiday season, let us delight in teddy bears, gift-giving, and easing the burdens of other people.

God,

Thank you for all the many gifts you give us, especially the gift of Jesus Christ. Thank you for the resources we have – physical, spiritual, and emotional – to bless others. Help us to be cheerful givers who bring joy, encouragement, and love to others, we ask in Jesus’s name. AMEN.

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously…” (Romans 12:6-8 NIV)

*https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/