IJM Freedom Campaign Launch

In conjunction with my Black Friday article I decided that words alone are not enough. I need to act. So in my boycott of consumerism this year I have started a campaign to raise funds for International Justice Mission. I am seeking to raise $500 by the beginning of January. You can donate by going to my campaign page at the link that follows. Feel free to forward it to your friends as well.

https://ijmfreedommaker.org/campaign/657/The-True-Meaning-of-Christmas

I am not opposed to Christmas gifts. I enjoy giving and receiving as well. But at some point enough is enough. When we can't tell the difference between needs and wants, when we can't be satisfied and content with all we have been given, when we can't even dedicate one entire day to being grateful without looking to buy more...we need a change.

I have struggled with the question of how much is enough. Is it ok to spend so much on myself when others are starving? There is no clear cut answer but I believe that God does bless those who look to Him. I believe He blesses those who have little materially, in different ways than He blesses those who have much materially. In some ways, they may understand God's faithfulness more than I ever will. I don't think it's a matter of how much a person has because God gives to each of His children differently. We were born in a country that has abundance, but it wasn't our choosing. Some are born into poverty, but that isn't their choosing either. I think what is important is that we all come to the understanding that nothing we have is truly ours and our hands should loosely hold anything given to us.

I think Tozer sums it up nicely in an excerpt from The Pursuit of God. "The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the Source of all things he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight. Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and has it purely, legitimately and forever."