The Advent Conspiracy – Part 3: Spend Less & Give More
The Advent Conspiracy is a mentality to rethink Christmas so that we don’t lose focus of the fact that Jesus is our greatest gift to meet our greatest need. It’s our way of choosing to live differently from the world, which spends over one trillion dollars around this time of year.
Several years ago, my wife and I introduced the idea of the Advent Conspiracy to our children using a family devotional that our local church made available to us. As a part of this discussion, we asked one of our sons if he could remember three or four of the presents that he received for Christmas the previous year. Nothing immediately came to his mind, so he began scanning his room for anything that would jog his memory.
He pointed to one toy that probably cost $20. He was right. He did receive it for Christmas the year before. It’s a good thing it was lying out in the open where it could be seen! “Anything else?” we asked. His next three guesses missed the mark. None of them were Christmas presents from the year before. This exercise gave us the opportunity to begin talking through the practices of spending less and giving more.
Spending less is a very subjective goal. To what or to whom are we comparing our spending? Are we supposed to spend less than we did last year? Are we to spend less than our other family members, friends, co-workers, or neighbors? Are we to spend less than the average American?
I believe it’s important for us to consider that spending less is more about our mentality toward stuff than it is about the amount of money we spend. I encourage you to give that some thought. Whenever the topic of spending less comes up, I think we immediately want to ask, “Well, how much is too much?” That’s a question that lends itself to legalism, which we ought to avoid like a plague. Instead, I think it’s simply a healthy exercise to consider what we value and why we value it.
Jesus taught, “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steel. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21, CSB). Then he said, “No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (v. 24). Finally, in Matthew 6:33 he said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you” (CSB).
Spending less may involve simplifying life so that there aren’t as many distractions to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. It may involve honoring God by practicing good stewardship of our finite resources. It may also involve reallocating our finite resources so that we can give more generously. Seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness means that we radically reprioritize what we value in life so that what we value is the same as what he values.
One of the things God values most is loving relationships. He demonstrated this by giving us himself. In fact, if we are to follow God’s example, giving at Christmas ought to look less like giving presents and more like giving our presence.
In Matthew 1:23 we read, “See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated ‘God is with us’.”
In John 3:16 we read, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
These two verses show us what it means to give more meaningfully and to give in love by spending less on presents and giving people more of our presence. The best gifts celebrate our relationships with God and others.
Take just a minute to think about the gifts you have already bought for others this year, or that you’re planning to buy. How many of them are meaningful gifts? How many of them truly celebrate the relationship that you have with that individual? Think back again to the best gift(s) you’ve ever received. Were they meaningful because they were expensive, or were they meaningful because of the relationship you had with the gift-giver?
My guess is that the gifts were special because of the relationship that you had with the gift-giver. That’s exactly why Jesus is our greatest gift. He came from a Gift-giver who conspired to transform the world through relational restoration.
One way to rethink Christmas this year is to spend less on stuff and instead give more meaningfully. The more creative we are, the more special it will be for those we love.