I heard about Marie, a 90-year-old woman, who could no longer go Christmas shopping. So she decided to send checks instead.

Because she wanted her friends and family to buy gifts for themselves before Christmas, she worked feverishly to get them in the mail early in December. At the bottom of each card she simply wrote, “Buy your own present.”

Because she finished everything early, she was able to relax and really enjoy the Christmas season. After the holidays, she began to clean the clutter from her desk. To her dismay, she discovered, under the pile of papers, all of the checks that she had forgotten to enclose with her Christmas cards (you know, the ones that said, “Buy your own present”)!

Sometimes I wonder if we don’t do a similar thing to Jesus at Christmastime. We are busy, and we spend money, but we may neglect a gift to the very One whose birthday we are celebrating. Why not give an extra generous gift to your church’s mission offering, so that a missionary can share the gospel with those who have not even heard the first time about the birth of the Savior? And don’t forget the Salvation Army and other ministries that help the less fortunate, especially in these times when the economy is suffering.

Somebody asked a little girl if she got everything that she wanted for Christmas. Her honest answer was, “No, but then, it’s not my birthday.” How true!

Failing to give to a Christian ministry at Christmas is like sending Jesus an empty birthday card and telling Him, “Buy your own present.” I don’t know about you, but I want to do better than that!

(Copyright 2011 by Bob Rogers. Email: brogers@fbcrincon.com. Read this column each Friday in the Herald. Read old “Holy Humor” columns by visiting www.fbcrincon.com and clicking on “Holy Humor.”)