Christmas

sigh...i'm giving in. I too feel the need to share my thoughts on this subject.

The Christmas spirit--

Everyone is talking about whether we should be giving or not giving... saying merry christmas or happy holidays...so on so forth...

I agree that one way we can definitely be celebrating the life of Jesus Christ is to be giving to one another. I strongly believe that one of the main teachings of Jesus Christ was the idea of humbling and sacrificing ourselves for others in any and every way possible. The pastor at our church went through Mark one Sunday and asked us to write "service" next to any verse that applied. It was quite awesome to see how many times he served people. Many undeserved gifts were given. Jesus was an amazing giver.

Unfortunately we stop there. We forget that Christ met needs. I see nothing wrong with sharing gifts with family members and friends but i feel like we've made this thing a little ridiculous.

I got to write a Christmas list to my family.

A Christmas list?!

I know i'm not the only one who was asked what I wanted for Christmas. That in and of itself shows me that the holiday has become quite selfish. I have no needs to be met. The gifts i'm given are expected. I wait about a month before Christmas and then i started stocking up on gifts for everyone i know because i love them and because i know that they love me and would do the same for me. I am not sure i've necessarily reached a "giving" sort of heart. I ask what people want and send out my Christmas list. I simply desire more stuff and Christmas is another means through which i can attain it. Sure i feel loved when i get things. Any time that someone acknowledges me and does something for me is going to be a time in which i smile. I don't think the fact that my giving results in these things means that my giving is an indication of a heart of giving or a spirit of sacrifice. I guess I totally believe that giving gifts is an amazing thing and i also believe that giving gifts to others because of the ultimate gift of Christ is a great idea. I'm just struggling with what it has become. We aren't meeting needs and our gifts are for the most part no longer sacrifices, simply really nice gestures.

So i've talked about meeting needs and yet i've said that it's still cool to give gifts to friends and family. what the crap do i give my family then?

I think there's even a model for what gift giving can be even if we don't have needs to be met--
I keep thinking of the time that Jesus was relaxing at Lazarus' place with Mary and Martha. Mary pulls out some amazing perfume and proceeds to wipe Jesus' feet with her hair.

Jesus didn't need that.

But He delighted in the way she actually humbled herself to serve him. Her heart was in the right place. I've never even touched my sister's feet. I don't think i've even cleaned my sisters' rooms before. I know i've never done it with my hair (lol what an interesting sight that would be). I've never picked up their dirty clothes (yes the underwear would have to come too) from their room. I certainly haven't done my parents' laundry very often and have avoided cleaning the toilet whenever it's cleaning time.

To me, those are things that have more to do with the Christmas spirit than the accumulation of more stuff. I'll be honest -- my heart is not in the right place for this Christmas. This blog is as much for me as it would be for any "discussion" with anyone else. I've only been thinking about what to buy for my family rather than actually taking the time to humble myself. Spending the money is not a big sacrifice.

But it would hurt if i actually cleaned the church for my folks over break. It certainly would be more uncomfortable. It would hurt to loan my car to someone or sacrifice some sleep time in order to spend time with someone who needed to talk. and i think that is more of the point of Christmas. I think we're way off the mark. As long as we have Christmas lists, "buy buy buying," "give, give giving," and can only think of things to buy for each other rather than taking the time to humble ourselves before our gift recipients, than something will be terribly out of place.

--my contribution to the "greetings" discussion---
I'm not sure I see much of a point in saying Merry Christmas to everyone I see. To me that's the equivalent of saying "Jesus loves you" to everyone I see. I just feel like this whole debate about what we should be saying really takes the focus off of building relationships with people. If the first thing i say to a person to whom i want to witness is "Merry Christmas," i'm not sure many people will be receptive or would even be given an opportunity to understand Christ's love. They only would've been fed a cheap, overused, overmarketed slogan as it exists today. However, if i instead take the time to meet their needs (from feeding them to actually spending time with them) and build a relationship with the person, i think i would have a better chance at sharing the real love of Christ. If i'm not willing to do that with the person, what business do i have talking about my Savior in the first place? I just feel like when we start waging a war on what we're supposed to say to other people without the accompaniment of actions, we have already lost the point.

The point is people. It is not words. It's being willing to be uncomfortable...to be willing to be humbled. It's being just as willing to sacrifice time for a person as i would be to give them money and words.

And it isn't always easy. Sharing real, genuine love isn't easy.

Short slogans are easy and require no effort. Buying gifts for people is easy. If they are not preceded by investment rooted in humility, then little has been offered.

I have such a hard time typing these things because it makes me uncomfortable just looking at my own words. I am so guilty of trying to convince people that Jesus loves them by feeding them words. I'm so guilty of "demonstrating" my love by buying my sister a cd (rather than taking the time to play basketball with her). I don't think the love of Jesus worked like that and i don't think those are the types of gifts we should bring. I also don't think our words and greetings mean much without real labor behind them. I'm sorry to all of you guys for the times that i've fed you b.s. rather than built relationships with you. I don't ever want to say "Jesus loves you" to someone and then walk away. I don't ever want to say "Merry Christmas" to someone whom i've never asked to eat dinner or hang out with me. Please don't let me feed you that.

I love you guys and i'm thankful for discussion. I hope that we continue to examine the perfect love of our Father made evident through Jesus Christ. i hope you guys know that i desire to grow closer in love with each of you because of Him. it's easy for my pride to get in the way during these discussions so i have a hard time participating. I hope this was loving and i hope that my words will be matched by my actions more and more each day. If they are not...then please please please kick me in the shins or something.

thanks guys
-dave