Gift Giving by Dan Bieger

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If it's personal, then maybe the exchange of gifts commemorates Christmas Eve. Gift cards? Writing checks. How personal can that be?"
"The mothers who exerted all that effort to buy the in-thing for their children; they didn't put personal effort into the project?"
"But it was just shopping," Stephen complained. "No better than dropping a dollar into the Salvation Army bucket. Like buying off your conscience."
"Ah, conscience. That's what we're talking about." This response startled Stephen into considering the comment for some time. When he did speak again it was a bit bashfully: "Yet, it is about conscience, isn't it? My conscience. The things I worry about that I should be doing but I'm not. No excuses, either. Just personal choices, easy choices."
"Are there any easy choices? How many hours of minimum wage does it take to buy the in-thing? How many meals are scrimped; how many pleasures forfeited? Even for those comfortable in life, the purpose of money is to purchase things. We purchase things for our pleasure. Sometimes, our pleasure comes from bringing pleasure to others, purchasing things for others. Does that not require investing time in the persons to know what it is they might like?"
"But, come on, Senor Viejo, we have no emotional investment in money. We gain or lose nothing spending money. "
"Actions have reactions. Doesn't what we do with money impact the world around us. For better or worse, isn't what we do only judged by observing the effects. Drop a dollar in the Salvation Army bucket and it buys a meal this night for the homeless. Easy to do, profound in its impact. Was it a good action or bad action? We know when dropped the dollar approximately how it would be used. We didn't object to that use. Therefore, we approved of that usage. Is that to our credit or not?"
Stephen sipped his drink thinking about the question. It seemed as if something he had been fairly certain about, the lack of love in Christmas celebrations, could be a function of his own behavior. And even that behavior was more suspect than he had imagined.
The conversation turned then to the more routine, the weather, plans for the weekend, what hours the Chapel would be open. The two men moved through a second cup of buttered rum before Stephen moved to return home. Putting on his coat, he was a bit surprised to hear Senor Viejo thanking him for the conversation. He turned to return the compliment but before he could respond, the old man grinned a new question: "What better gift on Christmas Eve than conversation?"
With that Senor Viejo busied himself cleaning the bar, maybe getting ready to close down for the evening. Stephen moved to the door, and sent his own thanks across the room. "One of the better gifts I've received, that's for sure." And he went out into the night.