What Makes a Good Gift?

2017 High School Health Fair

Students were shown two gifts. They were asked which gift they would prefer. One was a beautiful gift while the other one was in rough condition. It had been opened and rewrapped. Students were then asked the question, “What makes a good gift?” We determined that there were three main things: an intimate relationship between the giver and receiver, intentional effort, and exclusiveness. We discussed that you need to know a person to give a personal gift. You have to put time and effort into choosing a good gift. The gift needs to be exclusive. If a person gives you a meaningful gift then gives the same gift to another person the value diminishes. To have meaning, the gift is given only to one person.

Students were then asked, “Do you know there is something that was created as a beautiful gift that is an expression of love that binds two people together?” The gift is sex. To be a beautiful gift it has to have the three things we agreed on. It should be given to a person we know deeply and have made a commitment to, it should take effort, waiting for the right time, and it should be given to one person exclusively. The context that makes sex a beautiful gift is marriage. When we take the time to really get to know a person, wait to be intimately exclusive with that one person, what a beautiful gift we can give our spouse.

Students were asked how the strength of a marriage would be if they were able to give their spouse the beautiful gift as opposed to the worn already opened gift. Their reply was the beautiful gift would strengthen their marriage. The bond would be strong. They were asked how you would feel receiving that beautiful gift. That someone would cherish you to wait and give you the gift at the right moment and only to you. They replied, “I would feel loved and valued.” They then were asked, “How would the rewrapped gift make you feel.” They replied, “It wouldn’t feel special. The connection wouldn’t be strong.” They were left with this question, “What gift do you want to give?”