We all like to receive gifts IF what is being offered is in our best interests rather than the giver’s.
The challenge of being wise is to discern the motives of the giver.
If somebody is sincerely trying to help us — with no agenda of self-seeking on his or her part — a gift is such a blessing.
But if the gift is perhaps intended to create a sense of indebtedness to the giver, is it really a gift to you?
Or is it a self-directed investment by the one offering it to you?
It’s all about motive, it sometimes seems.
I share this topic today because of a passage in Genesis 23 where Abraham offers to buy a cave from a Hittite landowner so that Sarah could be buried with dignity and on land owned by her family.
The landowner, Ephron the Hittite, twice insisted on giving the land to Abraham and twice Abraham refused.
We know that Abraham didn’t get wealthy by spending money when he didn’t have to, so why did he reject repeated offers of donated land?
The Bible doesn’t say, but logic suggested a couple of reasons to me.
Abraham didn’t want to be indebted in any way to a non-believer, particularly when the burial place of his wife was involved. What if Ephron or his descendants decided later that they didn’t like Abraham or his descendents? Would access to the burial cave be blocked? How bad would that be?
Also, what if Ephron’s descendants decided they wanted to sell the land including the cave? Would they force Abraham’s descendents into a bidding war in order to protect the burial place of Sarah?
Sometimes, it’s just better to say, “Thanks, but no thanks” and then buy a thing or invest in a certain situation with your own money.
Girls learn this early in life with respect to somebody “giving” her an expensive date or gift and later having certain expectations that are better off avoided.
And everybody learns eventually that — like drug dealers handing out free samples — Satan offers all sorts of “free” things early in the temptation cycle.
Soon after the appetite for “free” is formed, though, the price tag becomes increasingly clear with stipulated moral compromises, financial consequences and even physical costs.
Listen, if somebody offers a gift to you and you’re not crystal clear about his or her motive, then I encourage you to pray about it and ask for wisdom in how to respond.
That way, you can wait on the Lord to reveal to you if accepting the gift will help or hinder your faith, your testimony and your peace of mind.
Borrowing from another, more common phrase, I’m convinced that we’re known by the gifts we keep.
As always, I love you
Martin
