SHOULD YOU HAVE SAID "YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE?"

 

Shoebox gifts for the Baptist Center under Christmas tree at Arlington Avenue Baptist Church

Okay, show of hands. How many of you have ever said when someone gives you a gift or an act of kindness say something like "You shouldn't have" or "You didn't need to do that?" I probably have.

Why do we say that? Simple. To let the giver know that they were in no obligation to give that gift or to do something for the other person. After all, how many of us add a name to our card or gift list because we received something from that person? In those cases, our giving is more guilt or feeling that we're in debt to the other. Thus, we say those things to let a person know they don't owe us.

However, there are two other reasons people might give you an unexpected gift or do something for you that you didn't solicit. I'll divide them in two groups.

1. Those who needed to. These people have giving in their DNA. When Becky gets good service, she adds that person to her list to give them a thank you card. It's in her DNA. Thus, some people give not out of guilt but because they're wired that way. To tell these people "You didn't need to do that" is a lie. Yes, they did need to.
2. Those who should have. These people feel God nudging them to do something for another. Or, to put it another way, God wants to bless a person and He wants you to deliver that blessing. For them not to give would be disobedience to God. Therefore, telling them "you shouldn't have" is wrong. Yes, they should have.

In other words, when someone does a kindness, maybe all you should say is "Thank you." They're doing what God wants to do.