Kate Carpenter, a contributing writer for the Keynote Connection blog, is serving as an intern with Keynote.
[From time to time we’ll post about various resources we recommend. We hope you will find them helpful as you seek ways to honor God with your labor, influence, finances or expertise (L.I.F.E.).]
If you’re like me, you probably don’t give much thought to December 6th, St. Nick’s Day. Besides being the day I finally convinced my parents to celebrate by putting little gifts in my shoes while I slept, it didn’t mean much to me.
Not until I did some research about who Saint Nicholas actually was. He was a Christian who took seriously Jesus’ words to “sell what you own and give the money to the poor.”
There are many stories about Saint Nicholas, but nearly all of them have to do with secret gift-giving. He was famous for leaving gold coins in children’s shoes when they left them out for him. There’s also a legend that Nicholas secretly paid for the dowries of three poor sisters, allowing them to marry good men instead of being sold into slavery. He tossed bags of gold through their window at night and they landed in stockings that were hung in front of the fireplace to dry.
While it’s easy to simply think of Saint Nicholas as a kind man, receive presents on December 6th and go on with life, I think St. Nick would have a different idea of how to honor his day.
I think he would have us do what he did: find people in need and help them. There are so many wonderful organizations helping people that it’s easy to find one that meets a need that you personally care about. Here are a few that people at Keynote are excited about.
- Here’s Life Inner City- Give aid to people in cities throughout the U.S.
- Kiva.com- Loan money to help an entrepreneur in another country
- Campus Crusade for Christ – Support the ministries of students, missionaries, and soldiers
- Samaritan’s Purse- Give to international relief
This Christmas season, we encourage you to be like St. Nick: give generously and have fun doing it! Whether you’re meeting a need around the world or next door, you’re participating in a tradition that began with God. He so loved the world that he gave. Let us go and do the same.
Share some of your traditions of giving to others during Christmas in the comments below.
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