I have mixed feelings about the whole “War on Christmas” battle that gets waged every year around this time.
I noticed this week at work that someone put out a bunch of “Merry Christmas” cards on an entryway table. A few hours later I came by and noticed that someone had thrown them all out.
The next day, someone put out a bunch of “Happy Kwanzaa” cards on the exact same table. Guess what? Nobody threw them out.
Isn’t that odd?
Anyway, it is easy this time of year to get all worked up about such things. Which is why I so appreciated a post over at GraceGround today called “War. On Christmas” by Kimberly Parker. Here is an excerpt:
For the past 50+ years in North America, Christians have been distracted by a global “war on Christmas” not even recognizing that it is creating war in their hearts. Don’t use the perceived war on Christmas as an opportunity to take your focus off of Christ. Don’t use it as an excuse for bad behavior. Don’t spread gossip, propaganda or untruths about anyone because of what you think they believe or don’t believe. Let it stop with you.
Head on over there to read the rest of this post, and this Christmas season, let the peace of Christ dwell in you richly.
I don’t have mixed feelings…bottom line, the “war on Christmas” thing isn’t His war at all. He is already victorious over all eternity and everything people make an issue about in December is just people making an issue. 🙂 He reigns! Whether people know it or not.
I was just writing a post about being offended. This ties in well.
posted if you want to read it (it is a tad edgy)
Leah, good point. It doesn’t bother me as much as how angry and upset some Christians get at this whole thing.
Jeremy, isn’t it amazing that people get all up in arms over it and yet they ignore the words of James 2:15-17 “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” That keyword “daily” really jumps out. We can be so benevolent, even to strangers, at Christmas but 364 days of the year we think it’s enough to “pray” for the needy. We ask God to meet their needs without remembering that He might want to use us to do it. I just shake my head.
Leah, yes. It really is sad (and backwards). I think Jesus is saying, “Who cares what people call this season! Go show love to them anyway! That’s why I came.”
Fighting Halloween, trying to put Christ back into Christmas, get the Easter bunny out of Easter and so on are an exercise in silliness, a diversion from what we should really be doing as followers of Jesus.
For Halloween we throw a party for the neighborhood. For Christmas we invite friends and those who would be alone otherwise. For New Years we invite neighbors.
We try to put Jesus into these and other holidays by showing the love of Jesus to friends, neighbors, and the lonely. We usually don’t visit the poor and the homeless on major holidays, especially Christmas, because there are others who do. We visit them and try to take them things they need when it’s cold and wet and they’re hungry – before and after the holidays.