Christmas is coming

Christmas is coming. Christmas is coming. Christmas is coming.

If I repeat that long enough, and often enough, maybe…just maybe…I’ll be ready for it. It’s not that I’m not looking forward to the holiday. It’s not that I don’t enjoy it.

I do.

In fact Christmas is my favorite holiday. No matter how much or how little I celebrate there is something about the lights and the sights at Christmas that no other holiday has.

But with Christmas coming my mind turns to the greed it instills in people. The greed that manifests in everyone.

Every time someone asks ‘what do you want for Christmas’ they’re asking ‘how can I feed your covetousness.’ I’m as guilty of that as the next person. I ask my children that very question every year. And then I try and buy the very things that will feed the greedy covetous monster in my children.

And I do it because I want them to be happy. I want them to enjoy the holiday. I want them to receive gifts they will love. I want to see the smiles on their faces, the light in their eyes. And I don’t want to see disappointment.

But it always shows up.

Invariably, every year, the disappointment is there. Someone didn’t get something they wanted. Someone else got something that this one wishes they had got. This toy broke as soon as it came out of the box. This game isn’t as fun as they thought it would be.

There will be something to cause disappointment no matter how much or how little we buy them.

Scripture tells us that we are to deny ourselves and live for Christ.

Have we ever asked ourselves what…exactly…Christ would give someone for Christmas if He was on earth?

Christians are to deny themselves and it would seem that we do that very thing as we use our money or our time to acquire the things our loved ones desire for Christmas…but are we really denying ourselves? Or are we catering to the place inside of us that wants to see our loved ones happy?

And even if we are denying ourselves what are we doing to the hearts of those we love the most?

I remember many a Christmas when presents overflowed our living room. When the kids received everything they wanted and then some.

And still there was someone that wasn’t happy over something.

As the greed of their own desires was fed to the point of bursting there was always something that wasn’t bought. Something that wasn’t good enough.

Handing them money isn’t any better because all we’re doing is feeding the covetousness with dollars instead of things.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t give our loved ones gifts. That is a decision every Christian must make for themselves, for their families.

But maybe we should weigh our own beliefs against the covetousness we’re buying into every time Christmas is coming. Should we spend hundreds on our children when a smaller amount…less presents…could be pared with something that feeds their hearts instead? What if we decreased what we gave them in things…or money…and increased what we gave them in time?

Could we turn off the televisions, set aside the phones and other gadgets, and spend the day walking in the woods, playing games, and focusing all of our attention on each other?

Could we feed their hearts and our souls by denying ourselves…including the need to deny ourselves the joy of making our loved ones happy with all the things or money that they want…and instead feed them with the things that don’t promote the very covetousness we know is sin?

Could we invest more of ourselves and less of our finances?

What are we giving them for Christmas?

Christmas will be upon us soon. Already the decorations are in the stores, the lights are going up, the music has begun. And so has the shopping and the many holiday get-togethers, the gift exchanges, and the expectations.

Christmas doesn’t come with the simple pleasures that should surround any celebration of Christ. And although Christmas didn’t originate as a celebration of Christ…it has it’s roots in paganism, and although what we know as Christmas today looks more like the pagan celebration it should be…the fact is that our society generally defines Christmas as the celebration of the birth of Christ.

You can see that in the ‘church’ buildings that go to great extremes to put on plays and programs, you can see it in the nativity scenes put up in a very few yards, and you can see it in the outcry of people that no longer want to be wished a Merry Christmas.

And I have to ask…what are we giving them for Christmas?

As we go into this holiday that is more about covetousness than it is about Christ…even in the ‘church’ buildings (how much money do they spend on those special Christmas programs?)…maybe we should look more to the Scriptures and less to the world.

If we looked at the closest thing we have of a celebration of the birth of Christ we see the wise men that went to great lengths to see Christ. The lengths to which they went to see their savior was no small feat.

Can you imagine what it must have been like for them to travel to Christ? They didn’t have a car, an airplane, or a train. They couldn’t get there in a short time. They didn’t have the comfort of a heated vehicle to travel in. Whatever the weather was as they made their trip…they were exposed to it. Day and night, hot or cold, wind or rain…they were in it.

What did it cost them in time and discomfort to go see their savior?  How many miles did they have to travel? How weary did they grow as they made their way to their savior? What did they give up to make the trip? What discomforts did they suffer?

 Can we even begin to fathom the time they must have put into making the trip? We are so used to being able to get from place to place in short time. We can go from one country to another in a matter of hours. We can cross the United States in hours by plane, days by car. We can’t imagine the time it would have taken them to make such a journey.

And yet these men put themselves through all that and more for Christ.

And they set an example for anyone that happened to look their way. They showed us through their actions just how far they went for Christ.

As we go into this holiday season where the ‘I wants’ abound, where we are too tempted to spend too much money on those we love, where our focus so often goes to the many celebrations we can be a part of and to the too many we may be expected to be a part of, we would do well to remember the wise men and the example they set.

As our thoughts turn to the celebration of the world, as we work through the needs of the flesh…our own and our loved ones…how much better would we be if we simply focused on Christ?

And if we could remember to ask ourselves…what are we giving them for Christmas?

It is so easy to cater to their coveting hearts and make smiles appear on those beloved faces. It makes us happy, makes them happy. But what are we really giving them? As we hand them all that they want…in things or in money…what are we really giving? Are we not deepening their ‘I wants’ with the overabundance of stuff and money we provide?

What if every time we looked at or heard a list of ‘I wants’ we could remember that self-denial is a good thing? What if every time we stood in a store with the intention of buying gifts we remembered what feeding their covetousness is…what it does? What if everyone that makes a list of ‘I wants’ thought of self-denial first? What if we remembered that more isn’t better for those we love? What if we remember that those happy faces on Christmas morning are representations of selfish hearts being satisfied with the many things that fill the packages our loved ones open?

What if we invested more into the souls of those we love and less into their earthly desires? What example do we set for them when we fill their toy chests with more and more? What example do we set when we hand them money so they can invest in their own desires and selfish ambitions?

What are we building in their souls with every toy, every gadget, every new piece of clothing? What are we feeding their souls when we gift them in dollar bills?

Are we feeding their souls as we celebrate this year or are we feeding their covetousness?

What then should we invest in this Christmas season? What example should we set? Is it enough to have no list of ‘I wants’ for ourselves if we fill the ‘I wants’ of our loved ones?

What purpose does another toy, another electronic device, another handful of money serve if it feeds the sin of those we love?

What if we invested more in their hearts and less in their sins? What if we invested more in their memories than we do in their collections? What if instead of handing them packages of things or handfuls of money we invited them to join us for something that feeds their hearts with our love, helps their souls to deny their own wants, and sets the example that someone in Christ should truly set?

What are we giving them for Christmas?