Why We Give Christmas Gifts

Every December, wrapped boxes appear under trees, stockings fill with surprises, and families ask the same quiet question. What does gift-giving have to do with Jesus? For many Christian households, the tension is real. We want to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas without letting gifts overshadow the gospel. So it’s worth slowing down and asking honestly: Is gift-giving biblical? And if it is, how can we do it better?

The short answer is yes gift-giving is deeply biblical. But it’s also true that our modern habits often drift far from Scripture’s purpose. What we need is not less giving, but a clearer vision of why we give and how our giving can magnify Christ.

A helpful way to think about Christmas gifts is to trace a simple, biblical flow: God gives to us, we respond by giving to Christ, and that joy overflows in giving to others.

God’s Gift to Us

Christmas begins with God’s generosity, not ours. The most familiar verse in the Bible frames the incarnation explicitly as a gift:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

At Christmas, God does not merely send encouragement or instruction. He gives himself. Paul describes it this way: “Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). The Son of God steps into human weakness so that sinners can be lifted into eternal joy.

This is why Christmas gift-giving didn’t originate with consumer culture. It originated with heaven. Scripture even pauses to marvel at it: “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15). The gift is so great that language strains to contain it.

At the heart of Christmas is this stunning truth: God gives God. Christ suffered “that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Salvation is not merely forgiveness or escape from judgment it is the gift of God himself as our greatest treasure.

That reality sets the tone for everything else we do in December. If Christmas is first about receiving, it is about receiving him.

Giving to Christ Without Paying Him Back

Once we understand God’s generosity, the next step can feel dangerous. Should we speak about giving to Christ? Doesn’t Scripture say that God needs nothing from us?

It does. Jesus himself warned, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). We never give to Christ as though we are repaying a debt or supplying a lack. Grace cannot be reimbursed.

And yet, the Bible repeatedly shows people giving to Jesus not to earn favor, but to express love.

In Luke 7, a sinful woman weeps at Jesus’s feet, wiping them with her hair and anointing them with perfume. Jesus explains what her actions mean: “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven for she loved much” (Luke 7:47). Her giving is not transactional. It is the overflow of forgiveness received.

The same pattern appears in John 12, when Mary pours out costly ointment on Jesus’s feet. Judas objects, but Jesus defends her act as fitting worship. She gives not because Jesus needs the perfume, but because she treasures him more than what the perfume could buy.

Christmas itself includes this kind of response. The wise men “fell down and worshiped him” and then “opened their treasures” (Matthew 2:11). Their gifts were not practical assistance for a poor family alone; they were acts of reverence.

Giving to Christ today looks like this same posture sacrifices made not out of obligation, but affection. Trust. Joy. Praise. A willingness to let go of lesser treasures because we are satisfied with him.

Giving to Others as Overflow

From God’s giving to us, and our joyful response to Christ, flows the third movement: giving to others.

The apostle Paul describes this dynamic in a surprising way: “In a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity” (2 Corinthians 8:2). Joy, not excess, is what fuels biblical generosity.

This matters at Christmas, when emotions run high. Studies consistently show that December giving spikes sharply in the United States, nearly 30% of annual charitable donations happen in the final month of the year. That instinct to give is not wrong. It’s a reflection, however faint, of a deeper truth: grace multiplies when it moves outward.

Hebrews 13:16 connects generosity directly to worship: “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” When we give to others in Christ’s name, God receives it as praise.

This means Christmas gifts are not mainly about creating excitement or matching expectations. They are opportunities to train our hearts and our children’s hearts to see giving as joy, not loss.

A Better Way to Give

So is there a better way to do Christmas gifts? Yes not by eliminating them, but by shaping them intentionally.

A Christ-centered approach asks different questions. Not “How much is enough?” but “What does this teach about God?” Not “Will this impress?” but “Will this express love?” The goal is not to remove delight from Christmas, but to anchor it in gratitude rather than accumulation.

In a culture where the average family spends hundreds of dollars per child during the holidays, Christians have a chance to model something different not austerity for its own sake, but clarity of joy. When God is the supreme gift, everything else finds its proper place.

At its best, Christmas gift-giving becomes a visible reminder of invisible grace. We give because God gave first. We give freely because we have received freely. And we give joyfully because our greatest treasure cannot be wrapped or unwrapped.

That is a Christmas worth celebrating.

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