I was talking to a guy in our church the other day who works in and around the oil industry. He was visibly shaken. I’ve never seen him like that before. He was just told he had to lay a number of people who worked for him off. Basically, he had no choice. The company was losing so much revenue that it was either those few or everyone losing their jobs if the company was to go under. He told me about the people, “good people”… he knew their spouses and kids. The company told him that he had to do it before Christmas.

Makes me feel bad for all those times I complained about high gas prices… $4/gallon doesn’t seem that bad when your talking about a dad being able to keep his job. I know it’s not that simple, but I still feel very selfish about complaining.

Say what you want about the state of our country and our economy. You can talk about the greed and all the reasons we got here, but there are real people hurting… “Good people.” My thoughts and prayers are with those families this morning. Men who found their identity in their jobs. Women who found their security in their husband’s paycheck. Kids who don’t understand but sense the fear and uncertainty. What is our response? What can we, individually and as the Church, do during this season of giving? Surely, it’s not buy as many toys for our own kids that can fit under the tree (and on our credit cards)… we’ve got to step up.

This Saturday, our church is giving away over 1,500 bikes, toys and food boxes to families in need at Merry Christmas Baldwin County. We can do more together. You might not have the money to give, but you may have the time. A family in our church, the Webbs, came every day last week, with their 4 boys, to help build and organize all the bikes. They must have spent 60 hours each volunteering their time to make sure the kids in our community get a toy at Christmas.

I’d like to think that I’m not so selfish that I’d take a corporate jet to ask for a billion dollar bailout. However, I’ve always heard that “if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” We can complain about the state of our culture, but what are we giving in a season that has quickly become about receiving?

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Galatians 6:7-10 – /7 Don’t be misled. Remember that you can’t ignore God and get away with it. You will always reap what you sow! /8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. /9 So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. /10 Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone, especially to our Christian brothers and sisters.

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Here’s some more on the subject of Giving. (great job on the intro by Trey, as well)