Ellie shares her thought for the week; be a Secret Santa all year.

So a couple of weeks ago in the office, we did this thing called Secret Santa. Lots of workplaces do this, however, if you’re not familiar with what a Secret Santa is, then it’s basically when You take a load of names in a hat and you pick one out and then you’ve got to buy a gift for that name – but that person doesn’t know who is buying their gift. So we did this in the office – the whole concept is you’re meant to keep it a secret and not tell the person, however, we did all end up saying who was whose secret Santa!

This whole Secret Santa idea got me thinking of Matthew 6 and that’s when Jesus he speaks about some of the things that we should do in secret

Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:1-6

This passage continues on, with Jesus talking about not babbling on when you’re praying because God knows our needs and to not make it obvious when we are fasting.

This verse is such a great reminder that God loves it when we are a little bit of a Secret Santa; when we bless others and do random acts of kindness in secret. He loves it when we come to Him and pray to Him in secret. And so I want to encourage you this week and as we begin the new year just to be a Secret Santa, not just at Christmas time, but throughout the whole year.

I pray you’ll have a really great Christmas and Happy New Year.

Every week one of our members shares a short thought aiming to inspire you for the week. You can watch previous Thought For The Week videos by clicking here.