If you haven't heard yet, there is a big debate going on over the Starbucks cup design right now. It's all over social media, and people are viciously taking sides. Who would have thought that we would live in a world in which people would spend their time arguing over expensive paper coffee cups? As a Christian, I am appalled to see people who are capable of truly helping to make our world a better place wasting their time arguing over coffee cups.
To begin with, we are not even half way through November. If we are really going to be true to the Christmas spirit, you are way too early. You can start all your advent preparations on Sunday, Nov. 29, but in the official Christmas tradition, the Christmas season doesn't even start until Dec. 25, which is over a month away. Starbucks has never written Merry Christmas on their cups before, so why does it matter now? Their cups and drinks are "holiday" instead of "Christmas" because they start producing them at the beginning of November. It's not an issue of being politically correct; it's an issue of trying to encompass several American holidays. Are Christians really going to let Starbucks define what Christmas means for us? As Dr. Seuss said, "What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?"
Let's make Christmas mean more. Christmas isn't a time for fighting and hatred; it's a time to appreciate what we have and to help those in need. Let's stop complaining about the coffee that we are lucky enough to be able to afford. Let's make all of our holidays mean more. Let's use this Thanksgiving as a time to be thankful for the fact that we can afford a cup of hot coffee, that we have food and a warm place to sleep at night. Let's be thankful for our families and friends. And rather than taking a stand against red cups, let's take a stand against poverty and injustice and all the deeply seeded wrongs that exist in this world. Is taking a stand against Starbucks really going to better our world?
I hope that we all take this controversy as a reminder that sometimes we get too focused on things that really don't matter. We live in a world in which social media gives us so much more power to have our voices heard; so let's take that power and use it for good. Let's help to make sure every child has a warm dinner on Christmas and warm clothes for the winter. Let's do things to make this world a better place and spread the true meaning of Christmas.
