Saturday, December 22, 2012

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch......

I'm getting so I hate Christmas.  Not what the holiday represents, as how people celebrate it.  Watch TV, and you'll see the pathetic emptiness of it all:
Christmas is about STUFF!  This is your last chance to buy STUFF!  If you buy STUFF your kids will love you!  You need to buy STUFF!  You don't even need money to buy our STUFF - just finance it!  Aren't there a few more people you need to buy STUFF for?  Make up for the emptiness in your life by filling it with STUFF!  You deserve STUFF!  People will love you if you buy them STUFF!  We're going to stay open late so you can buy EVEN MORE STUFF!
I mean, I'm all for buying gifts for those you love.  But our society has really gone overboard.  I don't know if it's gotten worse in the last several years, or if I'm just more aware of it, but I hate it.
Part of our not going crazy at Christmas is the fact we can't afford to.  But even if we had the money, what is the point?  Are your kids going to love you more if you buy them $500 worth of presents?  Does buying your wife a diamond automatically fix your marriage?  (Let's not even talk about the problems all around that putting Christmas on a credit card causes!)
I mean, really.  People trampling each other for stuff?  Spending money they don't have for stuff?  Is this really what Christmas is about?
What is Christmas all about anyways?  Jesus was born on this earth.  It's His birthday!  His sole purpose in coming to Earth was so that he could die to pay the penalty for our sins, so we wouldn't have to.  He has given us more than we could ever imagine, and we in turn give to others.
We only have a few days to refocus our priorities, and determine to focus on the real reason we should be celebrating.
May his joy and peace fill your heart.

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