As the weather changes and the carols start ringing, it's obvious that Christmas is coming. And why not use this time where people are so involved in Christmas to actually talk about Christmas?
I have been wrestling with these thoughts for a while now, but the sermon I heard from my pastor a couple Sundays ago really hit the nail on the head. Pastor Luke Saunders brought to light many issues with Christmas I had been contemplating in my mind, and as heretical as having a problem with Christmas sounds, hear me out and read this all the way through to see my point.
The way the majority of American culture "does Christmas" does not honor Christ at all, no matter how many nativity scenes we display in our yards. This would make sense if the people of the world were the only ones participating in Christmas, but since the American church also engages in Christmas, as it should, there are some glaring faults in the way we do Christmas.
1. The season has become about self-gratification
Whether we glorify ourselves or glorify our children, we aren't glorifying God. Which is ironic because God is the reason we are celebrating. We get so wrapped up in ourselves and our little family bubble, that we lose sight of the point of our elation; the Gospel. I know this sounds like "Remember the reason for the season", but I want to be clear, it is supposed to sound like that. Because if we truly remember Christ, and what He did, it will change how we do Christmas. Which leads to my next point.
2. Our giving is desperately shallow
According to the National Retail Federation, an estimated $465 billion will be spent on Christmas this year. Which sounds like we are a very generous people. Until we realize that it would only cost $10 billion to give the ENTIRE PLANET clean water. So here's an idea, why don't we say Merry Christmas to everyone on the planet and give them water, and then use the rest of the 455 billion dollars to satisfy our material desires.
3. Everything is shockingly temporary
If we spent that much money on Christmas, it could be arguable that it was worth it if we remember our gifts. But we don't. Excluding big ticket items, can we honestly remember most of our gifts from last year? Another question would be, how much of our stuff that we got last year is still around this year? Is it still relevant?
Now, I am just as guilty of these three things as anyone reading this. I am not trying to come across as some man in an ivory tower shouting down to the lay people who have screwed up. I am a man who has found himself in the filth and hypocrisy of the American Christmas, and through the teachings of the Bible, I am trying to point other Christians, and the world, back to Jesus.
See here's the thing, the Bible teaches over and over again to care for the needy. "Bear one another's burden"..."Do not look out for your own interests, but also to the interest of others". Both of these are commands that are present all throughout the Bible, so we need to wake up and take them seriously. And as a burden of the world is unclean water, a burden of the church must be unclean water.
However, we are also called to be generous. So give people good gifts, because God gave us the best gift; Jesus. But give to the needy as well. Don't sell out to materialism and the gospel of stuff because when all of those shiny toys are rotten and destroyed, the Gospel of Christ will always be glorious and new. So focus on Christ this Christmas.
The Christian should view this time of year as a time of joy and peace. But, the joy and peace is not for Christians to hoard, we are supposed to share the gift of salvation with everyone. So we must be intentional with what we give this Christmas, and the Christmases to come. Let's give the world water, and our children good gifts. It is possible, but it takes work.