Every Christmas Day, we celebrate the most important gift ever given. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not parish, but have everlasting life,” John3:16. This proofs few distinctive elements about God’s kind of gift:
• It was given out of love.
• It shows the depth of God’s Love for humanity.
• It was not given on the bases of man’s love.
• It required to be reciprocated.
• Positive response to the love brings a more eternal gift of life.

Gifts are precious and beautiful. Every gift demands response; sometimes in form of appreciation or thanksgiving. Life, itself, is a gift from God. On regular bases life affords us the gift of opportunity, time, joy, talents, goodwill and more. As important as gifts can be; they come in various wraps and shapes,forms and sizes. Because gifts come in several forms, most likely in deceptive shapes; they become man’s greatest weakness;what men cannot conceive is a mystery.
When I think of gift, I see a dark, elegant, smart, intelligent, innocent looking kind of a lady, who is capable of going extra miles to get what she wants; just to catch a person’sattention; she can seductively set a trap for you and carefully hide her evil intents, blinding you from caution. That she is presented to you on a platter looking like gold does not make her precious and durable. Her appearance should not make you conclude that she is notaccessible by others. Oh feeble mind! The grey truth is that before she came to you, she must have been to others, therefore, don’t consider your interaction special.
Beware!
• She knows how to raise your hope, and kill it when you are set for a celebration.
• She can give you her body only for you to discover that it was a high way to hell.
• People may go the extra mile to nominate her for honour, but only to be shocked that in her, lies the grave of the mighty.
• She may dress decently, but what lies within her is indecency.
No gift is innocent until you unwrap it. Many great men have been consumed by little innocent looking wraps –– some in human form, others in material form. If these great men had known the true content of the gift,which they are presented with, certainly their approach would have been different. Beware of gifts!
I remember several years ago, while I was in the place of prayer and communion with God. The Lord dropped a word in my ear; expressly He said that what others pay to get and fail to receive, the devil will freely make available to every true child of God, with little or no effort. Gifts could be mere distractions. They may come either as gains or beauty,but the target remains to get a focused mind distracted. These things are made easy, simple and attractive just to sap the individual of grace and rob him of mantle and mandate.
It all began with joy and great expectation, everyone gathered to welcome the Priest newly posted to the Church. In the meeting some people prayed for him, others showed facial acceptance, some people watched with a sense of ‘let us just observe.’ He was vibrant, intelligent, handsome, rhetoric, humble, a sound theologian, a great writer and fulfilled administrator; to some he is a true face of the future of the church, but among those who came to welcome him were these three persons:
• One who came with a gift; wrapped in it was a poisonous substance that will blind him permanently the moment he opens it.
• He other walked up to him and said; “we have been here since the inception of this church, looking at you we know you will still go like others, just take it easy; this church is not like other places you have been, please it is just an advise. I hope you are not angry,” what a threat!
• The third person was just there and never said a word just starring.

Church workers face different kind of people at different location in their ministry.
You don’t need to do anything to be loved or be unaccepted by the people; the force you came to fight will never wait to see you excel. To accomplish this, they passed through ‘gift’ to ruin your calling and mess your testimony. Through this ‘gift’ they introduce inordinate affection.
The story of Naboth in 1Kings 21 reveals the danger of inordinate desire. Life provides us daily with open doors but you must know this:
• Every open door is not an entry door
• Every open door does not lead to your desired location
• An open door may be a mere channel to doom
• An open door may be a set up
• If you want to go far always know that every open door is not an entrance.

25 Facts About Gift And Gifts
1. Sometimes they are in human form
2. Sometimes they are in material form
3. Sometimes they are in form of gold, or hard currency
4. Sometimes they come in attractive wraps with no value inside
5. Sometimes they come in negligible wraps with so much treasure within
6. Gifts are sweet, but can be poisonous
7. Gifts may look innocent, but very deadly
8. Gifts can blind the eye
9. Gift can open your closed doors
10. Gifts can break your defense
11. Gifts can steal your destiny
13. Gift can attract strangers
14. Gifts can kill
15. Gift can make you lose your balance
16. Gifts can bring you before great people
17. Gift can betray you
18. Gift could be deceptive
19. Gifts cannot be trusted
20. Gift can be mere aberration
21. Gift can introduce false love
22. Gift can give hope even false hope.
23. Gift can build true love
24. Gift can be a sign of deep love
25. Gift can be a bait.
Beware of gift, especially gifts in human form; as you celebrate the gift of a New Year watch; what you give and what you take.
• Ven. Stephen Wolemonwu is Rector, Ibru Ecumenical Centre, Agbarha-Otor; 08035413812