For most, Americans in particular, Christmas is the most artificial time of the year. Everything about it reeks of artificial, from the fake Christmas tree all the way to our Christmas greeting, “Merry Christmas,” and all the singing of Christmas carols. Few people really mean what they sing. All the traditions surrounding Christmas are not real. Santa Claus, sad to say, does not really exist.
It will be a wonderful time of celebration for many people as they gather with family and friends but it will also be a terrifying time for some. The loneliest time of the year is the Christmas holiday. More suicides are committed during this time of the year than any other time.
My worst Christmas…
I was about 12 and had spent all Saturday doing my Christmas shopping. I had to earn my own money and my primary source of income for Christmas shopping was muskrat trapping. At the time, I got about five dollars per muskrat and my goal was to have $100 for Christmas. I spent a lot of time early in the morning, in the freezing cold, checking my traps and retrieving my muskrats. At the time, I thought it was the greatest work in the world.
I had made enough money through my trapping to buy all the Christmas presents I needed for that year. My mother and I spent the whole day shopping going from store to store. There were no shopping malls near our home so we had to go to store after store after store to get our presents. As we bought our presents, we put them in the backseat of the car and went to the next store. We did this all day long.
We were through shopping for the day and had stopped at a store to get something for supper that night. When we came out to the car, we noticed something seemed wrong. As we got to the car, we noticed the back door was ajar and when we got up to the car we noticed all the presents in the back seat were gone. All of the Christmas presents for that year were stolen.
At the time, it was a heartbreaking experience. I remember it to this day. All the thief stole were replaceable items that only temporarily cause us grief.
I learned that the importance of Christmas is not what you get, because that can easily be taken away. The importance of Christmas is rising above your present circumstances and rejoicing in the real meaning of Christmas.
Having a “Merry Christmas” comes from the heart not from the pocketbook.
Theme…
Some definitions of merry are rather incompatible with fundamental spiritual principles.
If we are truly going to have a Merry Christmas, it needs to be based upon a foundation that cannot be compromised by circumstances or situations.
It is quite easy to be all caught up with the enthusiasm of the season and really forget what is behind the Christmas story. It has nothing to do with shopping, parties and wishing everybody a “Merry Christmas.”
A very interesting verse in the book of Revelation casts a little bit of light upon this.
Revelation 11:10, “And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.”
This of course refers to the death of those two prophets sent from God to give witness and testimony to the earth. Upon their death, the whole world celebrated and the thing I want to point out here is, their celebration resembles our Christmas celebration today.
I am all on the side of having a “Merry Christmas.” I like the Christmas carols of the season. I enjoy the very atmosphere that comes this time of the year. However, I think if I am going to have and continue to have a Merry Christmas I must not take it for granted.
I. Things that can compromise my Merry Christmas.
For the most part, we take things for granted. We take for granted that things will always be as they are or were. However, there are things that happen that can compromise having a Merry Christmas.
Let me just suggest a few.
1. If we focus too much on peripheral things and activities we can compromise our Merry Christmas.
It is so easy to be caught up with nonessential things and by the time we realize it, it is often is too late. We need to understand the very fundamental aspect of life is spiritual. I know this is not popular today. Man was created with the spiritual component. This is greatly neglected in today’s culture.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying activities and all that goes along with it. The Christmas party, New Year’s Eve parties and such. We need to be careful that we do not define ourselves by what we do. Because when we are not able “to do,” we then lose track of who we really are.
Having a Merry Christmas has nothing at all to do with activities but rather an inner awareness of what it is all about.
2. We also can compromise our Merry Christmas by blurring truth and fiction. We live in a generation that has difficulty in this area. If it is in a movie, it must be true. The older you are the more you realize that movies are at best 90% false. Yet, somebody sees a movie about a certain subject or a person and they believe everything is true as portrayed in that movie. After all, if it is on the screen it must be true.
We have to constantly remind ourselves of the source of truth. There is a danger of blurring the line between what is true and what is not true. There is a danger of trivializing truth and morphing it into something that it really is not.
The news media knows how to do this better than anybody. They can take a soundbite and make it say anything they want it to say. This was greatly seen during the last presidential election.
I have come to the point in my life that if it is on TV I do not believe it at all.
We need to be careful of the fact that trivializing truth or marginalizing it, will greatly compromise our having a Merry Christmas.
If are going to have a Merry Christmas we need to understand that there are things in this world and even in our life that can greatly compromise the genuineness of the whole season. Be careful not to be caught up in the trivia trap.
II. Things that can compliment my Merry Christmas.
This is where our focus needs to be put. Be aware that our Merry Christmas can be compromised and that will prepare us to be on watch about these things.
1. I think the best way to complement a Merry Christmas is to keep our focus on the truth and the reality of what Christmas is all about. Here is the priority of the Bible. We must adopt the Bible’s emphasis on everything.
I am not against all of the fables and traditions that have grown up around the Christmas holiday. Santa Claus with Rudolph the red nose reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, the Grinch that stole Christmas, and all the Christmas specials that we find on television. I enjoy this like anybody else. I also know that this is not what Christmas is about.
If we delve into the roots of Christmas we will find a completely different story. Not a story of happiness, joy and merriment.
If you read and study about the birth of Christ, you find the reason he was in the manger in a stable is that there was a price on his head, so to speak. Remember what happened after the wise men had a conference with Herod? How many thousands of innocent little children were killed because Herod was trying to kill the Christ child?
We do not often think about this at Christmas.
The coming of Christ brings great joy to those who welcome him and allow him to come into their hearts and their lives. Even today, we have what is called “war on Christmas.” There is in our world today a venomous hatred towards anything associated with Christ.
The one thing the devil hates more than anything else is that Jesus Christ actually did come into this world. Had he known how He would have come into this world he would have attacked Mary. God does his best work in the shadows.
In order to cultivate a Merry Christmas we need to keep our focus on Christ. He is the reason for the season although I am not prepared to say he is the reason for the current celebrations today. Our focus on Christmas needs to be from God’s viewpoint.
2. We also can compliment a Merry Christmas by understanding and appreciating the truth of Christmas.
What the angel said to Joseph is important.
“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).
He came into this world with a divine purpose, which was not to create an opportunity for us to celebrate, party and give gifts. Nothing wrong with that, if you do not obscure the real purpose of Christmas.
Christ came into this world because men were lost. Man is without hope. Man is facing a Christless eternity. Jesus Christ came to bring salvation to all mankind.
The joy of Christmas is the fact that salvation is now available to all mankind because Jesus was born into this world. If we take our joy from anything else or less, we are compromising the Merry Christmas attitude.
Conclusion…
It is important for us who are Christians to show to the world around us how to have a Merry Christmas. Not in word only, but also in deed. Too many Christians are grouchy, sourpusses, and world-class complainers. We need to plug into the genuine joy of Christmas. Jesus has come. Nothing else really matters. Because Jesus Christ is come, there is hope.
For the Christian…
I think Christmas time is a great opportunity for us who are Christians to showcase the genuineness of our Christianity. Certainly, we are to be generous in our giving. We ought to be generous in our complementing people and encouraging them. Above all other things, we need to show to the world that their basic understanding of what a Christian really is, is false. There are many pseudo-Christians out there giving us a black eye. Notwithstanding, we have an opportunity, especially at Christmastime, to show the world the real purpose of Christ coming into this world.
For the non-Christian…
Christmastime, I think, is the best time of the year to rethink your relationship to Jesus Christ. If what the Bible says is true, you face a very perilous time. You do not need to face it alone. One has come in order to change your life. The world is not going to change. In fact, the world is going to get worse. Jesus Christ came in order to change your life and give you a joy unspeakable and full of glory that you have never had before. For you, Christmas is the best time of the year to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Christmas represented treasure no one can steal. A treasure of inestimable worth.
