Sometimes I get mad.
I’m bothered when businesses call a Christmas tree a Holiday tree because they don’t want to offend anyone. It’s a “holiday gift” you see and not a Christmas gift.
We don’t want to offend anyone—except Christians. It’s all right if you want to change something you’ve been doing for 400 years because it’s no longer politically correct to mention the name of Christ in public.
If you don’t like it. Shut up. That’s the way it is.
Why do people so hate the name of Christ that they can’t even bear the word “Christ-mas”?
Can I make a suggestion? Since the Christmas/holiday season represents giving, why don’t we give the holiday to the PC people? I’ve got a strong feeling that it’s not what it was anyway. I wonder if the “Grinch” hasn’t stolen Christ-mas a long time ago.
Then we can celebrate Christmas, but really celebrate it. Really, really, celebrate it!
We might even get together with other Christians on Christmas day.
The way it is, we’re buried under a huge mound of pressure to buy gifts that many can’t afford. Santa and his reindeer whoosh through the air and create a sucking current that vacuums out the contents our wallet.
I wonder if the Lord isn’t sometimes a bit perplexed to have His name attached to some aspects of Christmas.
Someone has calculated that we spend 450 billion dollars for Christmas (in the USA). Think of this: one of the biggest problems in the world is the lack of clean water.
Women must walk miles to get water in many of the world’s villages and often that water is nasty. If we spent just a fraction of the loot that we spend on Christmas to dig wells for these people we could solve the water problem for millions in the world.
(See: http://www.africaoasisproject.org )
What if we were to act in the Spirit of Christ instead of simply buying whatever is “cool” this year. By our actions we would teach our kids that Barbie and Ken aren’t more important than Christ, that Ipods aren’t more important than hurting people.
It wouldn’t really matter what the world called the day if we’d get busy preaching Christ by our actions. We’d be celebrating the One who came to save us from our sins and others would glorify Him because of His generous heart expressed through us.
Let’s really get even with the PC crowd. Let’s celebrate CHRISTMAS this year. Let’s rejoice in the One who was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, showed His mission and his love by his miracles, who died for our sins and rose again the third day. Let’s celebrate the One who rose to the right hand of the Father, who hears our prayer, who pardons sins, who adopts us into His family and grants us eternal life.
We’ll get ‘em. We’ll praise the Lord instead of loading up on more junk. Of course, the junk factories would all sell even less and we’d prolong the financial crisis, but hey …
Seriously, we’ll give each other gifts to remember the greatest Gift. Why don’t we all stop a minute and evaluate this Christmas season. Think what you can give to, who you can serve, how you can tell the Good News of His salvation to someone who doesn’t know Him.
That would put the “Christ” back in xmas with a humongous exclamation point!
No really, I mean it. Don’t just nod your head and say, “You’re right David.” Write yourself a note to think this through. Talk with your family. Sure we’ll give gifts to those we love, but be moderate. Talk to the kids about needs, about the reason for the season, about how we can show the love of Christ by our actions.
Let’s make this a season that Jesus the Christ can be proud to add His Name to.
“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10, 11 NIV)
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Hmmm…
Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.
Gilbert K. Chesterton
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