According to Wikipedia:
A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment. The gifted item should not be owned by the recipient. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is meant to be free.
Are gifts really meant to be free?
Even if someone "helps" another, such as giving to a homeless person, is there not an expectation that in return that homeless person try to help themselves get off the street?
If I give my child a pet as a gift, is not my expectation that she care for and treat her pet with responsibility and integrity?
If I smile at someone on the street, giving a gift of joy, I do hold an expectation that they smile back or in some way exhibit appreciation for my gift.
Every year young children await Christmas presents with anticipation and glee. For those gifts, the price is a year of "good" behavior as they are threatened by Santa's List of who has been naughty or nice.
We are given talents and abilities to enhance our lives while we are in physical existence. Are these gifts really free? I think about the man who is great at building businesses but has difficulty with relationships. Or the super star athlete that gives up his privacy for the accolades that go with the attention of being phenomenal. And the mother that sacrifices her educational desires in order to raise and care for her family.
And what about Spiritual Gifts?
In the Spider Man movie, Peter Parker's uncle tells him "with great power comes great responsibility".
And I believe that to be true. If we are blessed with a Spiritual Gift, we must be very careful how we use that gift. Using it for personal gain or to harm another person is not the purpose of having these gifts. We are meant to share our unique gifts with others in a way that uplifts and is for the highest good of all concerned.
We have been "gifted" this planet by our creator and yet it does not come for free. We need to tend and honor our Earth in order for it to sustain us.
So, I am beginning to realize that not all gifts, if any, are truly without a price.
