Now that we are officially in the Christmas season, it might be good to look at the

amount that the average American will spend on gifts at Christmas. The estimates vary

from eight hundred dollars up to twelve hundred dollars. And as one commentator noted,

that doesn’t even include the Christmas parties and travel during Christmas time.

Now there is nothing wrong with giving gifts at Christmas, but I couldn’t help but

take a moment to compare what we spend at Christmas to what most Christians give

throughout the year. Barna Research did a study of giving by Christians and found that

less than ten percent of born-again Christians give ten percent to their church. Now I

know that we are no longer under Old Testament law where the tithe is mandatory. But

you do have to wonder about our priorities when less than ten percent even give a tithe.

Moreover, it appears that a majority of Christians spend more for presents at Christmas

than they give to the church and Christian organizations throughout the year.

I might add they also found that age and annual income were significant

indicators of giving. For example the older you are, the more likely you were to tithe.

Also, the poorer you were the more likely you were to tithe. A person who makes

$20,000 a year is twice as likely to tithe as a person who makes $40,000-50,000 year.

And a person who makes $20,000 a year is eight times more likely to tithe than a person

who makes $75,000 a year.

Do those statistics bother you? They bother me and are worth reconsidering at

this time of year. You have to wonder about priorities. We seem to be more willing to

give presents at Christmas so others can lay up treasures on earth instead of investing in

God’s work and laying up treasures in heaven.

So during this Christmas season, I hope you will take a moment and consider

what you might do to support your church and worthwhile ministries.Let’s reevaluate our

financial priorities and try to get our spending and giving ratios back in line.