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| Should Christians Celebrate Christmas? PART 5 |
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| Written by David Gaddy | |
| Friday, 18 December 2009 16:04 | |
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Part 5: A Celebration of Christ or Commercialism?
A large part of what keeps Christmas alive year after year is, let's face it, the gift giving. For many non-Christians, Christmas is still practiced mainly because of this. This aspect creates a chain of events. As long as people are buying presents, stores will cater to them. The more stores promote the Holidays, the more people want to buy stuff. The more people buy, the more they want to receive. With all of this greed in the air, does the commercialism of the Season totally nullify the good parts of Christmas? It shouldn't. Sure, the spirit of greed can taint the spirit of Christmas, but the truth is, people are sinners. That's why we needed a savior to begin with. Hence, amid all of the greed is the true nature of the gift-giving practice… love. A light appears brightest when surrounded by darkness. "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." - Matthew 5:14-16 The abundance of sin means abundant opportunities to teach. How did the gift-giving practice get started anyway? It was patterned after the Magi (wise men) who brought gifts to Jesus after his birth. Look to that example. Was greed a part of that process? No. It was done through love, honor, and respect. That pattern should remain for us. There are many lessons to be learned at Christmas time from all of the commercialism. What is given is not as important as the spirit in which it was given and the spirit in which it was received. As Christians we should personify this in our actions and teach it openly to those who need to learn. Look at what Paul taught the Ephesians as he left them for the last time: "I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." - Acts 20:33-35 Paul did not teach, "You can't stop greed, so stop giving." Which is the message conveyed when we suggest we stop practicing Christmas because of commercialism. Instead we should use the opportunity to exercise the teachings of Paul and Jesus. If the Christians give up on Christmas, then the commercialism and greed wins because the greedy will not stop simply because you did. God blesses us with opportunities to teach his will and Christmas provides us with many opportunities to do so. Think about this. Christmas time is a rare time of the year where people are less intimidated by the story of Christ. They are caught up in the emotions of the season which opens the door to their hearts. Through the season they can be taught about who Jesus really was and why His birth was so significant, and more importantly, what His death, burial, and resurrection accomplished. We have more opportunities to teach love, joy, peace, and the true spirit of giving. If a lost sinner comes to me and wants to know if I would like to be part of a Christmas gift-exchange and I respond with, "Sorry, I don't do Christmas", what message am I sending to him? A confusing one. For once, he was open to the idea of Jesus through this practice and I just shot it down. He does not understand my complex logic behind the decision, he is only wondering why a Christian would not want to be part of the joys of Christmas, a Christian holiday. An opportunity to teach is lost. This is also very difficult for our children in school who have an even harder time explaining to their friends and teachers why they do not "do Christmas". And although we may think that by not "doing Christmas" we have removed an element of greed from our family's lives, we may have introduced elements of envy and covetousness to them without realizing it because they feel left out. Removing greed from our holiday experience should not be quite so difficult. We can impose spending limits on each other. We can resolve to only give each other home-made gifts. These types of limitations force us to think harder about the gifts (more blessed to give), therefore making them more meaningful, and it keeps the greed and commercial aspects to a minimum. Yet we can still enjoy the meaning of the holiday, celebrate our love for God and His gift of His son, and be a strong witness to teach others. The world is trying it's best to take Christ out of Christmas through political correctness and social awareness. The socialists and the atheists are doing their best to shoot Christianity down from all sides. As Christians, are we going to help them or hinder them? My hope is to celebrate Christ every day of my life, not just on Christmas. But if the world is actually willing to acknowledge Him on December 25th, I will celebrate then as well, making use of any opportunities it affords by promoting the love of Jesus Christ and salvation through Him. May the love of Christ be with you and in you all… and Merry Christmas.
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