thinking about Christmas...
December 26, 2002
have you ever really wondered about the whole concept of Christmas? i mean, really sat down and thought about what the meaning of Christmas has come to? Christmas is SUPPOSED to be about Jesus. it's supposed to be a celebration of the birth of Christ, an unfathomable gift of love to the world. and you'd think that Christians would realize that during the Christmas season. maybe they do, maybe for a brief fleeting moment there's a recollection of the birth of Christ, the birth of baby Jesus in a manager. and soon after that thought has disappeared, the commercialism and materialism begins.
i think the biggest deal about Christmas nowadays is the shopping. for Christians and non-Christians alike. it's like, what am i going to buy for this person, that person, etc.? people count down the remaining shopping days until Christmas, and the later you shop, the crazier malls, and retail stores become. at some point, people always ask you, if you've finished your Christmas shopping or not.
who CARES? is Christmas about buying presents that only elevate the greed/materialism of those around you? of course not. you don't buy gifts to elevate greed or materialism, but that's one of the effects of giving gifts. people ask you what you want for Christmas. even if you don't want anything, you may start to wonder, flip through some catalogs, browse a few websites to see what you MIGHT want. that way, you can give the person that asked you what you want. and maybe on Christmas day, you'll open a wrapped box to find it was what you wanted! stores slash prices in hopes to get people to purchase more. sales soar during the Christmas season.
Christmas has turned into a commercial holiday. maybe that's okay in the secular world. but for Christians, it should be totally different. shouldn't it? wouldn't it be cool if instead of giving people ridiculously expensive presents, the money was spent on a more useful and worthy cause? like buying sleeping bags for the homeless, or giving it to a charity or to someone really in need? and for the people that you want to give something to, do something else like write them a nice card, or take them out for a meal or something. if every Christmas, all Christians would use their money on worthwhile causes, and NOT on gifts, think about all the things that could happen. the potential is simply incredible.
so what's my theory? stop buying gifts for people. and stop accepting gifts from people. instead, tell the gift givers to use the money and donate it to a charity or something. and instead of buying people gifts, you take that money and do the same. is that tight, not to give presents to the people you love? i don't think so. presents doesn't necessarily mean you spend $100 bucks on a shirt for them. it could be doing something for them. who knows. let's stretch our creativity a bit here :)
if we are to live lives for Christ, they are different from the rest of the world. set apart for Him :) instead of letting secular society influence the way we understand and approach Christmas, it should be the opposite. after all, the whole idea of Christmas CAME from Christianity! :) it was all about Jesus back then. and that's how it should remain today. it's all about Jesus. it always was, and it should always be about Him :)
Posted by Leo Chan at December 26, 2002 9:04 PM
