THANKFUL

You may not understand it now, dear disciples, but for your benefit, I must go away. If I remain here, the Advocate [Holy Spirit] won’t come to you. Take heart! After I leave I’ll send him to you, and he will never leave you, no matter what—John 16:7 (King Jimmy Translation).

Once He Gave it, He Wouldn’t Take It Back

For those raised in the 50s and 60s, we called someone who gave us a gift, and later wanted it back, as an “Indian-giver”. No one wanted that label attached to them.

The origin of the phrase was the result of a misinterpretation of actions between two cultures. When the Europeans first encountered the Native Americans, they thought the Indians were giving them gifts, but the Indians were bartering and expected something of equal value in return. The European’s neglect to offer the Indians something in return insulted the Indians and gave them the lasting impression of the white man as cheap and self-centered. When the white man saw the Indians wanted something in return, they coined the phrase “Indian-giver”. In retaliation, the Native Americans charged the Europeans double for drinks at their casinos and spawned the social justice movement, IGM—Indian Gifts Matter.

The Copyeditor’s Handbook (1999) describes the phrase “Indian-giver” as offensive and discourages its use. Just writing this story puts me in danger that the editors will block me from opening Microsoft Word again. To be politically correct, this objectionable word was renamed to reflect today’s society: “Indian-giver” is now Transgift Re-assignment Reverser [TRAR].

I am guilty of being a TRAR. In high school, along with a gazillion other hormonally-charged boys, I stood guilty of this crime of passion toward womanhood. When a lovely young lady captured my heart, I pursued her relentlessly, hoping she would accept a token of my undying love, which usually amounted to an adjustable-size ring purchased at Woolworth’s. She wore this symbol of our forever-love around her neck, proclaiming to the world she had a handsome, terrific, super-neat boyfriend [me]. That lucky girl. She was “going steady.” For me, it meant despite being skinny as stick of rebar and covered with enough zits to supply the entire senior class, I was good enough to have a girlfriend.

Life is reality. When my significant other revealed a character flaw she’d stealthily hidden from my tender spirit, it destroyed our true romance, even to the extent that our puppy love could never rise from the ashes. In order to maintain my flawless character, I became a TRAR and demanded my deeply-flawed girlfriend return the symbol of our forever-shattered love. (She usually threw it at me.) The tabloid headlines spread the news: Jimmy and ___________ (girlfriend of the week) are No Longer an Item. I learned my bitter lesson and promised myself to never give my heart away again to just another pretty face. Generally, within the eight to twelve-hour mourning period, I discovered my lifelong, true love and gave her the emblem of my undying love.

Our native friends in Central and South America have this TRAR thing worked out. Their Indian-giving leaves a positive effect. If a person goes away, they leave a most precious, personal possession with their friend to guarantee they would return. By giving this gift, it obligated that person to come back.

Jesus is the beautiful example of this form of giving. Christ did his work of redemption on the cross for the sins of all mankind, which included your sins and mine. On Easter Sunday, God the Father resurrected Jesus from the grave, to conquer sin and death for us—forever. Jesus told his followers he was going away but was sending them a gift, the Holy Spirit, to live within them until he returned. He said this gift is for all who become Christ-followers and will guarantee them they will be with Jesus and the Father in Heaven. He promised he would never turn into a TRAR on us and take this gift of the Holy Spirit away. The Savior keeps his word.

Thank you, Lord, for accepting us as we are and giving us your free gift of salvation and never taking it back. Thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to live within us to guide and teach us, but also to be a deposit on our place with you in Heaven. Please give us the faith to make you Lord of our life and draw closer to you every day.

Stay close to Jesus.

Jimmy

P.S. With the influx of Europeans flooding the country, the Native Americans reconsidered their open-borders policy.

Jimmy Eskew © 2016