GIFTS  -  SHOULD WE ACCEPT THEM?

The question we all face: 

A sister wrote:   “I am very happy that I no longer have a desire to celebrate the man made holidays, however people still want to purchase gifts for me and my son in celebration of these holidays.  I have tried to be very gentle in explaining to them that I no longer participate in these celebrations but it doesn't seem to register with them.  I want to know if it would be wrong/improper to decline the gifts that they present to me.  I don't want to hurt anyones' feelings and I need to know what or how I should proceed.  At my job everyone celebrates christmas, easter, etc except me and we receive gifts from the company and from outside vendors for the holidays; do I refuse them kindly, or accept them and discard them once I am away from work?   

Please help me to do what is right in the eyes of Father Yahuah.”

Dear sister, 

   Because we’ve also had to make this determination, and continue to deal with those of “the world”, we understand completely.

Looking into Torah, we see no prohibition in the receiving of any plunder from a person involved in practicing a human tradition that has set their hearts toward giving to others selflessly.  The Israelites received “plunder” from the Egyptians as they were departing from their captivity, as one example.  At 1 Cor. 8, we are advised how to regard food associated with a Pagan observance;  and we now understand that celebrating Sun-day, birthdays, Easter, Christmas, and Halloween are all adapted from idolatrous origins.  Can we be defiled if we accept food or gifts from someone else that is unwittingly following human traditions?

   Receiving a gift offered out of love from a friend or relative is not a transgression of Torah;  they are the ones still in bondage to a tradition, and need our help to understand the stronghold they are bound-up in.  In response to their kindness, the best opportunity to share the Truth becomes available, rather than giving them a feeling of being “spurned”, or even worse, “judged”.  Our witness can be a positive experience for everyone who knows and loves us when we can meet them at their level, and gently guide them into an understanding of what the “season” really means.  We can best help those trapped in “Egypt” when we can explain to them how we have learned of the things that really please Yahuah:  observing His appointed times instead of the traditions of men.  They are trapped in practicing what we were all raised to do, but we have been delivered by receiving the Truth.  They can have the same deliverance if we can gain their trust in what we are telling them.  The alternative is to shun them, and their offering to show their love; and by doing so we will be shunned.  Our effectiveness is therefore reduced, and the probability of our success in sharing the Truth is almost zero.  Decades will pass, and no change will be seen. 

   Yahusha spent His time among those who needed deliverance, and they didn’t feel shunned by Him.  He offered His sincere friendship.  He ate and drank with them, and was available to help and guide them.  He reached out to them, and they could feel the genuine love that burned in Him for them.  We must strive to do the same, and allow His love for them to be felt through us.  After all, the lesson to be learned is love.   Many have the impression it is our duty to judge every thing and every one, but it is our failure to love the lost that is our greatest stumbling block to overcome. 

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