May the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow
and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. May he, as a result, make
your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when
our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen~ 1st
Thessalonians 3:12-13 NLT
Christmas is not just the only time of year
for eggnog lattes; it is also prime time for my favorite leisure activity:
people watching. The gentleman in front of me at Wal-Mart yesterday was a
fascinating study. He had a full cart, and along with the food there were some
items that were obviously gifts and a few decorations, including, ironically
enough, a Santa hat.
Sadly, his Christmas spirit ended with the
festive items in his cart. He watched the young woman ringing up his groceries
like a very grumpy hawk and was quick to correct and question the slightest
error or perceived mistake that she made as she rung up his purchases.
Despite his crabby demeanor the young lady retained her composure. When she finished ringing up his purchases she politely
and cheerfully gave him the total of $93.94. He promptly flew into a rage and
informed her that the total was too much and demanded to see the receipt. After
some cranky off-color comments, he managed to grasp the reality that he had
indeed spent the amount quoted. He then stomped off, presumably to spread his Christmas
cheer to other retail establishments around town.
As tempting as it is to bash the guy at
Wal-Mart, I’m trying really hard to squelch the urge. There may very well be
more to the story than I know. He might have been tired, sick, dealing with grief
or some other legitimate issue that would cause him to believe that the
checkout girl at Wal-Mart was somehow responsible for what he put in his cart.
Admittedly, I’m a bit sensitive to all of
this. Two of my children work for a major department store chain. They have
told me some horror stories and I have witnessed the emotional and spiritual
toll that it takes on my kids and their friends to endure this sort of abuse
from November to New Years.
Seeing as how Christmas is meant to be a season
of spreading joy and benevolence rather than crankiness and ill, I would like
to offer five suggestions for making Christmas merry and bright for everybody.
Keep personal expectations in line with
reality~
I am convinced that much of the crankiness
related to Christmas stress has to do with unmet expectations. Many in our
culture have bought into the lie that every Christmas should be filled with
unending magical moments and unfettered family harmony. The reality is that,
aside from the spiritual aspects of Christmas (the truly magical aspect of
Christmas), magic does not manifest itself out of thin air. It costs money (a
limited resource) and our families are the same people in December as they are
in June. Keeping this in mind and then being intentional about what we intend
to spend while focusing on the point of the celebration helps to keep
expectations in line with reality.
Give people a break~
The modern age has ruined us all by raising
our expectations when it comes to immediate gratification. We want what we want
and we expect to get it in the time it takes for Google to obtain our search
results. Sadly, this often translates into impatience with any stranger who
can’t answer our questions immediately or provide what we feel we need in what
we deem a reasonable period of time. I have to remind myself frequently this
time of year that people are not machines. They are humans who get tired, have
bad days and don’t always have all the answers.
Revive the lost art of common courtesy~
Be nice. That’s all you have to do.
Know your personal limits~
I
did something on black Friday I have never done before. I went to the mall. I
left the house with a heart filled with Christmas spirit, a solid Christian attitude
towards humanity and a jam-packed to-do list. I was intent on getting at least
half of my shopping completed before the day was done. One look at the lines
and I knew I was going to lose my mind, end up in jail, or say something sinful
to an innocent person if I had to stand in one of those lines. I left the mall
without purchasing a single thing, but I went home with my Christianity and
Christmas spirit intact. We have to know our personal limits when it comes to
stress and be willing to toss our agendas if it means maintaining an attitude
that blesses other people.
Keep the spiritual in the forefront of the
celebration~
I do not believe there is anything
inherently wrong or sinful with the retail/secular side of Christmas. Spending
keeps the economy moving along, and after a careful study of Old Testament
celebrations, I am persuaded that God likes and encourages wholesome fun and
joyful celebration. Many secular traditions like decorations, cookies,
stockings, light displays and gift giving are wholesome and fun. Until, of
course, the spending and fun become the focus. Then the fun becomes toxic to
the original purpose of the day: remembering what God did two thousand years
ago when He sent a vulnerable little baby into a lost and broken world with the
sole intention of redeeming that world and drawing men and women into
relationship with Him.
Going into December with an agenda for
keeping Christ in Christmas is the key. I have found over the years that activities
like celebrating advent at home, singing Christmas songs, sharing with others,
and reading Christian Christmas stories aloud as a family all help to keep
things properly focused.
Keeping things properly focused at home
bleeds over into how we treat strangers in public, and may just open up some
opportunities to share the true meaning of the season with an overworked,
under-encouraged stranger.
You must let no unwholesome
word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for the building up of
the one in need, that it may give grace to those who hear~ Ephesians 4:29 NET
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