Live Generously This ChristmasScot Bower - 8 Dec 2011

A chance to make a real difference in the lives of real people.

With the seasonal iTunes playlist on in the background (Chris Rea's Driving Home for Christmas is playing as I type this) and the arrival of sparkly fairy lights yesterday, the 24-7 office is in a festive mood.

And alongside the twinkly stars and invites to Christmas parties there's the receiving and, of course, the giving bit.

The question that buzzes around my head as I wander the High street is primarily 'how can I make someone happy'; What would put a smile on my kids faces this year? What would my wife really like?

How can I display my love for someone in the gift I give them? It's the care I take in creation - home-made things go down very well in our house. And the attention I take to discern what would be appreciated. Note: whilst I'm aware my lovely wife is running low on face cream, Christmas is not the time to remind her that anti-aging gels may be appropriate! Similarly I had a friend who was mortified to be given a nasal hair trimmer by his over-attentive mother in law! The keys then for effective present giving are: creativity, discernment... and generosity.

Christmas is a time for generosity; Picture the Dickensian Scrooge throwing open his window on Christmas day or a bunch of magi/wise men/scholars visiting a new born child:

They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome they kneeled and worshipped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold frankincense and myrrh.

Or that ultimate act of generous love that caused the Father send his Son:

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.

A few years ago to help people engage with that expression of generous love Pete Worthington launched a project called Living Generously. LG is a simple idea that allows someone to redirect generosity and pour it on those most in need of a gift this Christmas. Pete writes:

How many times have you been asked ‘what do you want for Christmas?’ Its great receiving presents but to be perfectly honest I've begun to find it harder to answer these questions. There is not much these days that I need (apart from shower gel and socks!). Ok, there are things I may want but actually I have even found those desires have greatly diminished in comparison with my desires to want to see others lives changed and justice issues being dealt with.

It just pains me to look out at our spending frenzies, particularly in western culture and our overindulgent commercialized Christmases and yet watch the poverty and pain on TV of so much of our world. It makes me almost want to give up giving gifts for good!

Don't get me wrong I'm not against celebrating but isn't it about time we looked beyond our own desires?

Living Generously is a project which encourages people to do just that. As well as inspiring articles, thoughts and ideas, we have provided one way in which anyone can engage with the project and make the decision to Live Generously.

The web site provides the opportunity for people like myself to create a gift list which benefits others and then invite our friends and family to buy a gift for someone else instead of ourselves. It allows you and me to find areas and locations that we feel strongly about by providing access to a growing database of all sorts of gifts, from a meal for a marginalized person in Vancover, to a water purifying system for a village in Africa…

Living Generously works with a large number of charities worldwide to ensure effective distribution and guarantees 100% of the gift amount goes to that charity.

This year in the UK alone £16.8billion will be spent by families on Christmas gifts, can you imagine what a difference if even a tiny fraction of that amount was redirected to those who need it most?   

Pete continues:

Whilst we passionately believe it is important, Living Generously is more than providing gifts to those with need, it is about changing our lifestyle so that we learn to live our lives in a generous way, giving of ourselves in time, money, skills and other ways.
We all do things that are selfish but how often do we do things that are selfless, that don't benefit us directly? It is fact that people are more fulfilled in their lives when they give as well as receive.
I am continually amazed when I hear stories of very poor people in parts of the world sharing the little they have and yet not in a begrudging way. In many parts of the world we have relatively so much, isn't it about time we found a way to share what we have and Live Generously?

So if you're stuck for ideas of what to buy someone this year, or perhaps you're reconsidering buying your Aunt yet another smelly candle, go to www.livinggenerously.com and buy them something that will make a difference to the lives of the most needy.