I was sitting at a red light the other day, watching a homeless man standing in the cold rain. We often go through the list of reasons not to help—wondering what he might spend the money on, wondering if he was scamming, wondering if it even mattered. The truth is, no one sits outside in that weather unless they really need help.

My problem wasn’t whether to give. It was that I only had big bills in my wallet, and with Christmas coming, that felt like a lot. I kept thinking, “I wish I had smaller bills.” However, the longer I sat there, the more convicted I felt. I finally stopped, handed him one of those big bills, and he gave a quiet “thank you”—then a louder one when he realized what it was. “God bless you,” he said. And it was genuinely heartwarming.

But the part that surprised me most wasn’t his reaction.
It was mine.

I thought I’d drive away feeling good about myself because it really is better to give than to receive. Instead, the only feeling I had was regret that I didn’t give more. I kept thinking, Why didn’t I just empty my wallet? Why didn’t I give it all?

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Acts 20:35

It made me realize: what felt like “a lot” to me was nothing compared to what we’re willing to spend on Black Friday or Christmas gifts. There’s a reason Luther Krank tried to skip Christmas. We chase deals with more urgency than we chase generosity. Every year I talk about how much I miss those old Black Friday lines, the freezing cold, waiting for midnight, running inside, not even taking a buggy so you can move faster through the crowd.

I would run for a deal.
Do I ever run to Jesus? My Bible? My Church?

It hit me: sometimes our priorities are completely backwards.

I pray that this holiday season will be a time for people to run into the presence of God with more eagerness than we run into a store. I hope that it will be a time where we give so freely and so joyfully that we’re actually dissatisfied with how little we’ve given. May we go so far in loving people that it makes others stop and say, “Why would they do that?”

I know some people question what churches are doing in the world today. Some wonder how churches help during crises and ask whether they deserve tax exemptions. The truth is, most churches barely have enough to keep the lights on. Many close every year.

Even with that reality, I pray for a day when we give, serve, and love with such abandon that it doesn’t make sense. That we do so much good people don’t just question it—they’re encouraged, challenged, and changed by it.

So as we step into this holiday season of open hands and gift-giving, my prayer is this:

As open as our hands are to receive,
may they be equally open to give.
And may our hearts be just as open
to receive the love of the Father.