![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.presbyterianmission.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/HashtagJohnCalvin-1-420x500.jpg\")
Born just 70 years after Gutenberg built his first printing press, digital communication and social media were probably not even figments of John Calvin\u2019s imagination. However, Calvin thought a lot about \u201chelpfulness for our neighbor\u201d and that is the thrust of #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving that relies on the power of social media. Calvin would applaud the neighborliness that #GivingTuesday facilitates.<\/p>\n
Calvin was very concerned the human inclination to put ourselves before others\u2014a tendency which does not seem to have changed much in the 500 years since Luther pounded the 95 theses on the Wittenberg Door. At the holidays, it\u2019s especially tempting to put our focus on gifts for our friends and family members.<\/p>\n
Calvin\u2019s Institutes<\/em> has helpful words for us as we examine our holiday priorities. He writes there that \u201cthe sum of the Christian life [is] the denial of ourselves\u201d and that \u201cself-renunciation leads to proper helpfulness toward our neighbors.\u201d Calvin reminds us that following Jesus means joining his mission to put others\u2019 well-being ahead of our own.<\/p>\n #GivingTuesday helps us to expand our focus beyond those we know and love, so that we\u2019ll also care for people next door and around the world\u2014even ones we don\u2019t know or don\u2019t love!\u00a0 As we give generously, we invest in a world that looks more and more the way God longs for it to be.\u00a0 Calvin sought to align the church with God\u2019s desire for our world, and #GivingTuesday is an opportunity for us to move toward that vision.<\/p>\n Chip Hardwick is director of Theology, Formation and Evangelism for the Presbyterian Mission Agency.<\/em><\/p>\nSupport Presbyterian Mission on #GivingTuesday, November 28<\/h4>\n
\n