The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Monday, January 2, 1995                TAG: 9412310002
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A10  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   28 lines

WHAT JESUS ASKS

I almost found myself saying ``right on'' when I read Mike Royko's tongue-in-cheek column, ``Do-gooder should shop early.'' Then I had to remind myself, once again, what the Christmas holiday is all about.

Good and kind people want to do something special for the needy at Christmas because that's what Jesus would have us do, and it's a celebration of his birth. Just when folks want to be generous and show a little charity, along come the self-righteous to remind them of their shortcomings.

In Matthew 26:11 Jesus reminds us of a simple truth that we can't seem to grasp: The poor will always be with us.

Christmas comes but once a year. We should be proud of our citizens who want to show a little love and kindness, not critical of them as Mr. Royko is.

DAVID L. WILLIAMS

Virginia Beach, Dec. 27, 1994 by CNB