It is common in the Western world to give presents at Christmas time to one another. Many families place their presents under the Christmas tree and open them either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Some Christians have argued that the giving of gifts at Christmas is wrong because it is a form of materialism that takes away the glory deserved to God and puts the focus on ‘stuff.’ This article will focus on what the Bible has to say about gift-giving to determine whether or not Christians should exchange presents at Christmas.
Christians may exchange presents with one another at Christmas. The Bible sets a precedent of giving gifts as a way of celebration. Because Christmas is the celebration of Jesus’ birth, Christians may exchange gifts. However, Christians should give gifts in such a way that God is glorified.
Gift Giving in the Bible
The Bible does not mention Christians giving or not giving presents to each other to celebrate Jesus’ birth. As such, the best course of action is to determine any precedents in Scripture of gift-giving.
In this section, I am going to analyze gifts that are given to other people, not gifts given to God, because at Christmas Christians give gifts to other people. Further, I am only going to analyze gifts given in celebration, not gifts given to appease, such as when Jacob gives Esau a bunch of gifts to appease his wrath (Gen 32:1–33:11), not gifts given as a reward, such as when king Nebuchadnezzar gave Daniel lavish gifts for interpreting his dream (Dan 2:1–49), and not gifts given as a dowry or bride price (even though this is a fascinating subject; click here to see all the bride prices given in the Bible).
Gift-Giving at Purim
In the book of Esther, the holiday of Purim is established. Haman the Agagite convinced king Ahasuerus to write a decree that all the Jews were to be annihilated on a single day (Esther 3:1–15). What Haman did not know was that Esther, the queen, was a Jew. Esther set about the fall of Haman (7:1–10) and then asked the king to make another decree that the Jews could defend themselves and kill their enemies (8:1–17). The king agreed and on the thirteenth day of Adar the Jews killed 80,000 enemies. The Jews in Susa got an extra day of killing on the fourteenth of Adar. To celebrate, the 14th and the 15th of Adar each year were proclaimed a holiday (Purim) and all the Jews sent gifts of food to one another in celebration:
“And Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, obliging them to keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same, year by year, as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor.”
ESTHER 9:20–22, emphasis added
As can be seen, the giving of gifts was part of the holiday and part of the celebration. The gifts are gifts of food and the Jews also give gifts to the poor, something that is frequently not done at Christmas.
The Gifts from the Magi
The most relevant gift-giving narrative in the Bible is that of the magi (or wise men) in Matthew 2:1–12. After Jesus was born, some magi from the east came to worship him (2:1–2). Tradition holds that there were three magi because there were three gifts, but the text is silent regarding how many there were. After determining Jesus was in Bethlehem (2:3–8), the wise men set off and found the place where Jesus was (2:9–10). Upon entering the house (note that Jesus is no longer in a stable contrary to many nativity depictions), the magi worship Jesus and give him three gifts:
“And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”
MATTHEW 2:11, emphasis added
To celebrate the birth of the “king of the Jews” (Matt 2:2), the magi give three presents to Jesus.
Now, it is not possible for Christians today to present Jesus with physical gifts, such as gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but a question for all Christians is whether or not this text gives a precedent for gift-giving at Christmas? I don’t think it is a precedent for two reasons. First, Matthew 2:1–12 is accurately narrating the events that happened surrounding Jesus’ birth. There is nothing in the text that suggests Jesus’ disciples should be giving gifts to each other every year in celebration of his birth.
Second, there is no text in the New Testament that picks up on any gift-giving precedent for Jesus’ birth. What I mean is that there is no text in the New Testament that commands, claims, suggests, or hints that Jesus’ disciples (Christians) should exchange presents every year in honour of Jesus’ birth because the magi (wise men) gave Jesus three gifts at his birth.
What the gift giving of the magi does suggest, in my opinion, is that gift-giving is acceptable in times of celebration and that there is nothing wrong in giving gifts. If there were something wrong with giving a present to someone, there is a good chance that Scripture would say so. However, the Bible never forbids gift-giving, nor does it explicitly command it.
Christians May Exchange Presents at Christmas
Based on there being no explicit command forbidding gift-giving and based on the precedent set at Purim and of the magi when Jesus was born of giving gifts during times of celebration, I am comfortable concluding that giving presents to one another in celebration is permitted by God. Thus, since Christmas is a time where Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, it is permitted by God to exchange presents with one another at Christmas. Christians may give one another presents at Christmas and not be sinning.
Redeeming Christmas Presents
However, Christians must be careful that Christmas does NOT become all about the presents, which unfortunately happens to so many. As such, Christians should seek ways to minimize materialism in their gift-giving, ways to celebrate God’s gift of Jesus in their gift-giving, and ways to glorify God in their gift-giving. Although not the only ways to do this, here are some suggestions on how to redeem gift-giving at Christmas for God’s glory:
- The gift(s) should not put you into debt in any way since Christians should not be in debt (see my article on debt here).
- Limit the number of gifts given. In our family, everyone receives one present at Christmas from the family. I receive one present, my wife receives one present, and each of our four children receive only one present. We also ask extended family and friends to only give one present (of course grandma and grandpa always give more, but we don’t stop them because this is one way for them to show their love to their grandchildren). Thus, each family member usually ends up with a total of 3–4 presents at Christmas.
- For our family, the purpose the giving presents at Christmas is to remind us that God gave us the greatest present—Jesus and the salvation that is offered through him. Thus, when we give each other our presents, we always say something like, “this gift is for you in memory of God’s gift of Jesus for us.”
- The gift could be something that strengthens one’s faith, rather than something neutral or something that pulls someone away from a healthy and strong relationship with God. You can be really creative here.
- You could take a leaflet from Purim and also give gifts to the poor and the homeless. This is a great way to remind those who are down and out of the love of God through Jesus.
The above are just a few ways on how to redeem Christmas presents. If you choose to give a present this year, how will you redeem it for the glory of God?