(Pastor Dave’s Holiday Rant – Read On, You Might Be Surprised)OK…It irritates me that in our politically correct society we end up with retailers, who will make the bulk of their annual revenue in the next four weeks, avoiding the use of the word Christmas in their advertising and in-store propaganda. I would like to be greeted at Walmart by a smiling employee saying, “Merry Christmas.” I would like the cashier, who I have just received a receipt that eclipses my height to say more than, “Happy Holidays.” I would like to see advertising from the many stores who will spend billions over the Thanksgiving weekend to get you to step into their store that reminds people of what this holiday is really about, the greatest gift ever give, Jesus.
However, there’s a really good reason why I won’t hear and see these Christmas sentiments this year. It’s not really about being politically correct. It’s not really about corporations and advertisers being anti-Christmas. It’s not because the greeter at the Walmart entrance has been warned about possibly losing his job because he could offend someone who is not a Christian. Would you like to know what this real reason for all of this is?
People don’t believe in Jesus.
I know, mind-blowing isn’t it. People don’t believe in Jesus. If the reason for the season is the birth of Jesus, and people don’t believe in Jesus, then for them it is little more than another holiday, albeit the biggest holiday of the year.
Now, here’s the rub for me. Christian organizations are rallying to the cause of the word Christmas. Buttons, banners, bumper stickers, billboards, and boycotts are showing up everywhere to try and push companies into focusing their ads and store displays on the word Christmas. If a retailer doesn’t use the word Christmas in their ads, with their employee greetings, throughout their store then they are to be shunned.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a committed Christ follower. I believe that Jesus Christ and His miraculous birth are what this time of year is all about. If there is not one card that comes in the mail, one present under my tree, one meal with friends and family I will still be content with knowing Jesus Christ is my greatest gift. My concern is that we are spending a lot of time trying to get people to say Christmas and have forgotten to invest ourselves in sharing the Christ of Christmas with them. We want the greeter at the door to wish us a Merry Christmas, but walk by without any concern for whether or not she knows the Lord Jesus Christ personally. The waiter at the Olive Garden may not have a clue who Jesus is, but he better tell me Merry Christmas as I sign my credit card slip or I will cut his tip.
Here’s what I would suggest. Let’s stop making our focus whether or not the retail industry and its millions of employees with give a passing nod to the word Christ in saying Christmas and start instead focusing on whether or not we have done our part in sharing with them the miraculous and life changing person of Christ. For some, you might be bold enough to talk about Jesus right there on the spot with the. For others maybe a tract or a card will be your way of sharing. Regardless of what your method is, I encourage you to commit to it.
Oh, and one more thing. When you are out and about during the Christmas season set a higher standard. When someone runs into you with a cart overflowing with bargains because they were racing to grab that last premium item off the shelf, respond in such a way that they will be left shaking their head and muttering to themselves about how strange you are because you didn’t do what one might normally do, but you responded as Christ would. Be Christian at Christmas.
Oh….and have a Merry Christmas
Dave “Big D” Bentley
