Sacrificial

This holiday season, take a moment to ask yourself, “Does this person really want what I’m buying them?” A new survey finds the answer is likely no! Researchers have found that more than half of Americans (53%) will receive a gift they don’t want.

It turns out that everyday Americans are throwing away tons of money. According to a survey, unwanted presents will reach an all-time high in both volume and cost this year, with an estimated $10.1 billion being spent on gifts headed for the regifting pile.

Overall, the annual holiday spending forecast finds that roughly 140 million Americans will receive at least one unwanted present. Shockingly, one in 20 people expect to receive at least five gifts they won’t want to keep. The average cost of these unwanted items is expected to rise to $72 this holiday season, up from $66 last year. That represents a billion-dollar surge in wasteful holiday spending.

Saying “you shouldn’t have…” might be a more truthful statement than ever when it comes to certain gift ideas. Topping the unwanted gift list are:

Clothing and accessories (43%)
Household items (33%)
Cosmetics and fragrances (26%)
Technology gifts (25%)

So, what happens to all these well-intentioned but unwanted presents?

Regifting is the most popular solution (39%)
Return the item to the store to exchange for something else (32%)
Sell the unwanted gift (27%)

So, if you’re still looking for last-minute gifts this holiday season, choose wisely. There’s a very good chance the person you’re buying for won’t like your choices anyway.

Possible Preaching Angle:
You can use this story to remind people that the only gift that is universally appropriate in the gift of God’s Son. But in the same way, many people reject this costly gift as unnecessary and unwanted (John 1:11-12).

When it comes to the ultimate test of devotion, fewer than half of Americans would give a piece of themselves to save someone they care about. A revealing new survey has found that just 39% of Americans would be willing to donate an organ to family or friends—a striking discovery that sheds light on where people draw the boundary of personal sacrifice.

The study of 2,000 U.S. adults, explored various dimensions of loyalty in both personal relationships and consumer behavior. While organ donation may be a step too far for many, Americans demonstrate commitment in other meaningful ways.

More than half (53%) would endure waiting in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles for someone they care about. Additionally, 62% would put their reputation on the line by acting as a reference for a loved one’s apartment or job application.

Perhaps the most revealing statistic is how Americans would handle unexpected good fortune. An overwhelming 82% said they would share a windfall of $100,000 with family and friends—indicating that while many might hesitate to share their kidneys, they’re quite willing to share their cash.

Possible Preaching Angle:

1) Selfishness; Self-centeredness – It is amazing how selfish people are becoming when called to make a very personal sacrifice for their very “flesh and blood” relatives; 2) Christ, sacrifice of – This also highlights the amazing sacrifice Jesus made for his “brothers and sisters” when he said “Take and eat. This is my body” (Matt. 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24) and “he himself bore our sins in His body on the tree” (1 Pet. 2:24).

The UN Refugee Agency says the country of Columbia has hosted 3 million refugees and migrants from neighboring Venezuela. Columbia has also had the second highest number of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in the world. Since 1985, violence and threats from armed groups have caused 6.7 million Columbians to flee their homes and go elsewhere in the country. Almost 20% of Columbia's population have been traumatized by the refugee, migrant or IDP experience. Here's one pastor’s story:

In 1984, Pastor Jose Higinio Licona and his family experienced violent displacement themselves in their hometown. His family owned a 6-acre farm, milked cows, and grew yucca and corn. One evening, when Licona returned from church, he found dozens of uniformed men with guns in his house, nonchalantly sipping his wife's lemonade. They demanded that he join their force. Pastor Jose decided it was time to flee with his family and a few animals. During their flight, they had to sell their animals and food became scarce. They never got their land back. Pastor Licona's current church is small, only about two dozen people. But most of them could report similar stories of loss as IDPs.

Since they were IDPs themselves, Licona's church started helping Venezuelan migrants when they started coming about 4 years ago. They butchered cows and harvested a half ton of yucca. They helped migrants pay rent and apply for temporary protection status. They hosted dinners offering Venezuelan dishes, offered counseling, and shoulders to cry on. They're helping 2,000 Venezuelan migrants who settled in the area. Pastor Jose says helping migrants is instinctive, "How could they not? We are all IDPs!"

This church has given from what little it had. What sacrifice!

Eric Liddell took his starting spot in the finals for the 400 meters. More than 6,000 paying spectators filled the stadium on that warm Friday night in Paris, a century ago, when the starting pistol fired and the Scottish runner took off from the outside lane.

And 47.6 seconds later, Liddell had set a new world record, leaving his competitors in awe and his fans grasping to make sense of what they had just witnessed.

Liddell’s sprint at the 1924 Paris Olympics is a canon event in the history of Christian athletes, and not just because of what happened on the track. Liddell entered the 400-meter race only after learning that the heats for his best Olympic event, the 100 meters, would fall on a Sunday. He withdrew from that event, holding fast to his Christian convictions about observing the Sabbath.

Some admired his convictions, while others saw him as disloyal and unpatriotic. Many could not comprehend his inflexible stand. It was just one Sunday, and at a time when Sabbath practices in the English-speaking world were rapidly changing. Besides, the event itself would not happen until the afternoon, giving Liddell plenty of time to attend church services in the morning. Why give up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring honor to himself and his country? Liddell recognized that the world was changing. But the Sabbath, as he understood and practiced it, was to be a full day of worship and rest. It was, for him, a matter of personal integrity and Christian obedience.

Liddell’s performance in 1924 lingers because it was caught up in cultural narratives about what it means to be a Christian athlete and, by extension, what it means to be a Christian in a changing world.

His story inspired the 1982 Oscar-winning movie Chariots of Fire, which brought his accomplishments back into the spotlight and led to numerous inspirational biographies focused on his Christian legacy.

News of Liddell’s achievement quickly spread back home through the press and the radio. He arrived in Scotland as a conquering hero; those who had criticized his Sabbath convictions now praised him for his principled stand. He spent the next year traveling throughout Great Britain on an evangelistic campaign, preaching a simple and direct message. “In Jesus Christ you will find a leader worthy of all your devotion and mine,” he told the crowds.

Then, in 1925, he departed for China, spending the rest of his life in missionary service before dying in 1945 of a brain tumor at age 43.

And as the Olympics return to Paris this summer, Liddell’s name is part of the centennial commemorations.

Charitable giving went up nearly five percent during the economic trouble caused by record inflation in 2022, according to a Fundraising Effectiveness Project study of American nonprofits. The number of donors, however, declined by about seven percent—fewer people gave more money.

Number of megadonors -0.4%

Number of medium donors -1.4%

Number of small donors -13%

Money given +4.7%

Who are the most generous givers? As a nation, America tops the charts. The three most charitable cities in America are all in Idaho. On average practicing Christians in those Idaho cities give $17,977. That beats out the giving from people in New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, which averages $3,308 per person.

Age also makes a big difference in giving. Eighty four percent of millennials give less than $50 to charity per year even though charitable giving ranks high on their priorities.

Today, the average church attender gives 2.5% of his or her income annually. During the Great Depression, that number was 3.3%. Thirty seven percent of those who consider themselves evangelical Christians don't give at all to their churches. Only 2.7% of evangelical Christians practice tithing.

Editor’s Note: You can read this fascinating Barna survey with all the stats here.

After surveying more than 16,500 donors to 17 Christian ministries, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability discovered that most give based on internal values, not on who asks them or how they are asked.

Why Would You Support a Ministry?

45% - I’ve been blessed, so I give back

23% - My gift makes a difference

15% - It’s the right thing to do

9% - I know someone working there

6% - God will bless me for it

4% - Other

How likely are you to support ministries that works to:

96% - Tell others about Jesus

95% - Make God’s Word available to all people

86% - Care for orphans

77% - Aid in disaster relief

66% - Address injustice or oppression

48% - Benefit my own community

More than a quarter of American evangelicals do not give any money to church. About 11 percent of evangelicals (defined by belief) never attend a church, so perhaps it makes sense that they don’t give to one either.

But according to a survey, another 15 percent attend church but never put money in the plate. Giving, historically, increases with income and age, but the study notes that millennials and Gen Z are much more likely to give directly to family, friends, or even strangers than to support institutions.

Percentage Of Income Evangelicals Give to a Church:

10% give more than 8%

23% give 2% to 8%

26% give 0%

42% give less than 2%

According to Lifeway research, among Protestants who attend church monthly or more, four out of five say tithing is “a biblical command that still applies today.” Here’s where they say such giving can go:

47% Can only go to a church

48% Can go to other Christian ministries

34% Can go to an individual in need

18% Can go to a secular charity

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, US relief agencies began ramping up fundraising efforts to assist in helping out refugees. But many Americans found another way to provide direct relief to struggling Ukrainians, people like Volodymyr Bondarenko.

Bondarenko had a one-bedroom apartment in the capital city of Kyiv, and in the first several days of March he and several others like him were inundated with bookings via Airbnb from people who wanted to donate but had no intention of actually staying there.

The idea came from a social media campaign, which urged benefactors to book trips at properties that are owned by individuals, rather than property management corporations. Bondarenko said, “More than 10 bookings came in today. This was surprising, it's very supportive at the moment. I told many of my relatives and friends that I plan to use this money to help our people who need it at this time.”

Careyann Deyo of New York City is one of many who stepped up to donate via Airbnb during such a critical time of need. She said, “I donated to larger organizations as well. But [I] felt this had a more immediate impact.” Her Ukrainian recipient’s response was humbling. "I'm crying. You are my heroes.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

When we use our resources to tangibly help and show compassion to those in need, we model the life and way of Jesus.

A thriving stock market (measured by the S&P 500 index) doesn’t translate to more charitable giving. According to a decade of data collected by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability:

• When stock value increased nearly 30 percent in 2013, giving to charity decreased by about 1.5 percent.

• Stock value went up more than 11 percent in 2014, and charitable giving from individuals and organizations increased by nearly 6 percent

• Stock value declined slightly in 2015, while giving increased another 5 percent.

• Rates of giving also appear to be disconnected from changes in median household income and gross domestic product.

Well-intended patrons arrive every day at 10:00 am at Goodwill locations with truckloads full of cast-off items. Goodwill spokesperson Heather Steeves says, "We hope everyone brings great things that help our programs, but we know some people make some questionable judgments about what is good to donate.”

She holds up a lampshade, which is stained and disgusting and literally falling apart. There's also a small table missing a leg, cracked purple food-storage containers and a used sponge. They're just a representative sample of the useless stuff dropped off the day before.

Along with simply being gross, these items cost Goodwill money. Steeves says, "All this trash adds up to more than $1 million a year in a trash bill, and it's been growing every year for the past five years.” And that's just for the 30 stores she oversees.

Goodwill does recycle lots of what it can't sell. The nonprofit reuses textiles and refurbishes some broken electronics. But last year, it threw away more than 13 million pounds of waste—technically other people's garbage—and that’s just in its locations in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

One cause of this growing trash problem is a phenomenon called wish-cycling, where people are hoping that something is recyclable and therefore they put it in with their recycling. Steeves said, "We have seen comments on our Facebook page recently that are like, 'If you wouldn't give it to your judgmental mother-in-law, don't donate it.' "

Possible Preaching Angle:

Offerings; Tithes – Christians are sometimes guilty of giving their second-best to God, while keeping the best for themselves. God wants our best, not our leftovers.

The PBS documentary titled, GI Jews: Jewish Americans In World War II is about the 550,000 Jewish Americans who served their country in World War II. There was remarkable heroism, but also great loss endured by the Jewish soldiers and nurses.

As American forces marched through Hitler's Europe in the winter of 1944, rumors that the Nazis were murdering Jewish prisoners of war continued to spread. Hearing news that Jewish soldiers in the Soviet army had been singled out and shot, some American officers encouraged their men to destroy their dog tags.

On December 16, deep in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium, the Germans launched a massive assault on American forces. This became known as the Battle of the Bulge. 19,000 Americans died in the Battle of the Bulge, and 15,000 more were captured.

The documentary then focuses on Sergeant Lester Tanner and his unit as they were taken prisoner in late January. He and the other officers were moved to a prison camp called Stalag IX A.

Lester Tanner said:

When the Germans came at us in force, I threw away my dog tags, which had my religion on it. The (Germans) announced that the Jews had to form up in front of the barracks the next morning, and those who did not would be shot.

Narrator:

Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds, a Protestant from Knoxville, Tennessee, was known for his strong leadership and deep moral conviction. He was the commanding officer in charge of the 1,275 American prisoners.

Tanner continues:

Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds said, “We will all be there in the morning in formation, and I will be at the head.” The next morning, we were lined up. German Major Siegmann marched over. “Roddie said to him, 'We're all Jews here. Siegmann said, 'You can't all be Jews.’”

The German took out his Luger, pointed it at Roddie's forehead, and said, “You will order the Jewish-American soldiers to step forward, or I will shoot you right now.”

Edmonds replied “Major, you can shoot me, but if you do, you're going to have to shoot all of us. We know who you are, and this war is almost over, and you will be a war criminal.” The major spun around and went back to his barracks, and Roddie dismissed the men.

Edmonds saved nearly 200 Jewish-American men that day. They would never forget the extraordinary risk he took on their behalf.

You can watch the video here (timestamp: 55 min 31 sec –58 min 49 sec).

Christy Lewis was scheduled to receive her COVID-19 vaccine in February, but when she saw a neighbor in need, she decided to give her appointment slot away. What Lewis didn’t realize was that it wouldn’t be that simple.

Lewis wanted her slot to go to Emily Johnson, who’d posted her plight to the social media site Nextdoor. Johnson was scheduled for an open-heart surgery in Cleveland, but needed the vaccine to fly in an airplane, and none of her doctors in Austin had access to it. Moved by Johnson’s plight, Lewis responded: “I am scheduled for the vaccine this morning at 10:45 a.m. You need this much more than I do. If you can make this appointment, it’s yours. Please call me to arrange.”

However, the plan ran into a snag--when Lewis accompanied Johnson to get the vaccine, the clinic receptionist told them that swapping wasn’t allowed. It took some explaining and convincing, but eventually the receptionist finally consulted her supervisor, who authorized the swap. Lewis said, “I have a son who is quadriplegic, and we’ve been the recipients of numerous acts of generosity from other people. It’s a good feeling to be able to pay it forward.”

After their story went viral, Lewis confirmed that her vaccine appointment has been successfully rescheduled.

Possible Preaching Angle:

You never know when you might be able to bless someone in need, so be on the lookout for God to use you.

The skies were stormy as Father James Quinn, chaplain for the FBI’s Miami office, began to offer his public remarks. “Even the heavens are crying,” said Quinn, as he addressed the crowd of loved ones and coworkers gathered to remember FBI Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger. “She led a life of sheer determination, dedication and courage,” according to FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Laura Schwartzenberger was killed alongside Special Agent Daniel Alfin during a child pornography investigation. The agents were killed and four others were wounded after the man at the center of the investigation opened fire while they attempted to serve a search warrant at his residence.

Laura was known as a tireless advocate for children. As she spent seven years working crimes against children. According to Wray, she experienced “the very worst parts of humanity. It’s a job with high stress, high emotional toll, and high burnout. But Laura never stopped.”

She was also known as a tireless athlete who used her fitness for good. She had the distinction as being the only female member of the Albuquerque SWAT team in its history. Michelle Brown, the gym owner where Schwartzenberger was known for her 5am Cross-Fit workouts, called her “a true hero.”

Director Wray said that Laura’s presence was so deeply felt in her community that several parents of victims from previous investigations reached out to ask how they could help care for her family. He said, “They asked how they can help Laura’s two boys. And that speaks volumes about what Laura meant to this community.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

A life given in service is never wasted; on the contrary, we live up to the highest ideals of the gospel of Jesus when we work to right the scales of justice and protect society’s most vulnerable. In so doing, we are affirming the value of every human life as worth protecting.

Kirk Cousins, starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, makes more in a year than many people make in a lifetime. But NFL careers have an expiration date. In fact, an old joke is that NFL stands for “not for long.” So, Cousins is committed to giving and saving in a way that will enable his family to continue giving generously for the rest of his life.

Back in 2005, when he was in high school, Cousins heard about the ministry of International Justice and their work fighting human trafficking and slavery. Cousins was moved. Instead of traveling with the organization or joining the staff, he had in his mind that he wanted to support IJM financially. Cousins said. “I walked out of the service that night and prayed, God give me more to steward, give me an opportunity to help some day.”

That didn’t happen immediately. But after college, Cousins was drafted to the Washington Football Team in 2012 as a backup quarterback, signing a $2.5 million four-year rookie contract. In his fourth year, the team promoted him to starting quarterback and he signed a one-year $20 million deal. When his contract expired, the Team signed him for another year for $24 million. Going into his seventh year in the NFL, Cousins and the team weren’t able to agree on a long-term deal, and he signed a three-year fully guaranteed $84 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings in 2018.

He quipped, “There aren’t many starting quarterbacks who are 50 or 60 years old. At some point, unfortunately, what I’m doing ends—earlier than I’d like—and the income stream gets cut off.” With that in mind, Cousins is learning to save so that even after he is no longer playing professional football, he can increase his giving percentage each year.

An article in Forbes reported the conclusion of Chuck Feeney’s journey to give away a fortune. The article was titled "The Billionaire Who Wanted To Die Broke … Is Now Officially Broke.”

Feeney, 89, cofounded airport retailer Duty Free Shoppers in 1960. He amassed billions while living a life of monk-like frugality. Over the last four decades, Feeney has donated more than $8 billion to charities, universities, and foundations worldwide through his foundation. And he did it all anonymously. Because of this clandestine, globe-trotting giving campaign, Forbes called him “the James Bond of philanthropy.” And his example ignited a fire storm of radical generosity by other plutocrats (more than 210 billionaires have signed the Giving Pledge to date).

In an article titled Zero Is the Hero, Feeney summarized his mission in a few sentences. “I see little reason to delay giving when so much good can be achieved through supporting worthwhile causes. Besides, it’s a lot more fun to give while you live than give while you're dead.” Now at the conclusion of his “journey to broke,” Feeney tells Forbes: “We learned a lot. We would do some things differently, but I am very satisfied. I feel very good about completing this on my watch. ... And to those wondering about Giving While Living: Try it, you'll like it.”

Editor’s Note: Chuck Feeney passed away on October 9, 2023 having achieved his goal of dying broke

Keoni Ching is like a lot of boys his age. He likes to create things, and he likes to help people. But during a school event, he combined those likes to make a big difference at his school.

He was inspired by NFL cornerback Richard Sherman, who recently donated over $27,000 to help pay off student lunch debts in Santa Clara. Ching wanted to help erase student lunch debts at this school. So, by selling handmade keychain bracelets for $5 each, he raised over $4,000--enough to pay for the lunch debts at his school, and six other area schools.

Ching came up with the idea as part of the school’s “Kindness Week,” and said he selected key chains because “I love key chains. They look good on my backpack.” With the help of his parents and grandparents, he sold over 300 of them.

His mother, April Ching said, “We have sent key chains to Alaska, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Arizona, all over the country. There was one lady who said she wanted $100 worth of key chains so that she could just hand them out to people. ... There were several people who bought one key chain and gave (Keoni) a hundred bucks. It was absolutely amazing how much support the community showed for his whole project.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

God gives each of us opportunities to use our gifts to bless others in need; it's also part of the redemptive cycle of shalom that those enslaved by debts be given the mechanism to be free from those debts.

After Alan Naiman died of cancer at 63, he left most of his estate to a variety of charities serving children with various needs. This came as no surprise to his friends, who knew him as a frugal yet generous soul.

They just didn’t realize exactly how generous.

That’s because the charitable windfall that Naiman orchestrated from beyond the grave was more than a few thousand dollars—it totaled over $11 million.

Though he never married or had kids, Naiman was known to work extra jobs, scrimp on expenses, and invest here and there, eschewing the kind of extravagant spending that other people in his income bracket regularly enjoyed.

“Growing up as a kid with an older, disabled brother kind of colored the way he looked at things,” said close friend Susan Madsen. That brother passed away in 2013, the same year Naiman bought a Scion FR-S sport coupe—moderately priced, as a midlife crisis car.

Most of the organizations that received donations were ones in which he’d made contact over the years while serving the state Department of Social and Health Services for over two decades, handling calls after regular hours. Among them are the Pediatric Interim Care Center which serves babies of mothers in drug addiction, Treehouse Foster Care, Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center, which provides horse therapy for disabled people, and WestSide Baby, which distributes care supplies for low-income families with babies and small children.

Potential Preaching Angles:

When we’re faithful with what we’re given, God gives us the opportunity to be a blessing to those around us. The world values outward displays of wealth, but God looks at the heart.

In the city of Brotherly Love, sometimes generosity extends past boundaries of gender or class.

According to a GoFundMe page established on his behalf, Johnny Bobbitt Jr. recently purchased a home with more than $400,000 dollars that were donated to him, all resulting from an act of kindness he made last fall.

In November 2017, motorist Kate McClure ran out of gas on I-95. While weighing her options for help, she was approached by a then-homeless Bobbitt, who walked up to her car. Bobbitt told her that the roadside area was unsafe, instructed her to lock the car's doors, and then proceeded to walk to a gas station where he spent his last $20 on a red fuel can.

Floored by his selfless generosity, McClure wrote about her interaction with him online.

"Johnny did not ask me for a dollar, and I couldn't repay him at that moment because I didn't have any cash, but I have been stopping by his spot for the past few weeks … I wish that I could do more for this selfless man, who went out of his way just to help me that day."

Several months and many donations later, Bobbitt's kindness has been returned in an overwhelming gesture of crowd-funded generosity.

Potential preaching angles: Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. True love expects nothing in return. Of course God usually does not reward our good deeds with a financial windfall. But the Bible does promise that our Heavenly Father who sees in secret will reward us.