Trouble lies in feeling proud.
I was taught that it’s a sin
and that I shouldn’t share aloud
some gift with which I was endowed.
My gloating crow and Cheshire grin
burst that bubble, feeling proud.
Bragging rights? No one was wowed;
I lost those friends. I couldn’t win.
Better not to share aloud,
deflect my gifts amid the crowd.
But self-effacement wears me thin.
It’s trouble—a lie—to not feel proud.
There’s joy in peeking through a cloud
and beaming, now and then, to kin.
I can choose to share aloud
a well-earned pride to those avowed
by ties of birth or love within
and double down on feeling proud.
It’s blissful sin to share aloud.
—Barbara Lydecker Crane
You have a decision to make: double or nothing.
For this week only, a generous supporter has offered to fully match all new and increased donations to First Things up to $60,000.
In other words, your gift of $50 unlocks $100 for First Things, your gift of $100 unlocks $200, and so on, up to a total of $120,000. But if you don’t give, nothing.
So what will it be, dear reader: double, or nothing?
Make your year-end gift go twice as far for First Things by giving now.
