Thursday, December 4, 2008

What is Christmas?

So last night I started thinking about what Christmas means to me, and what it means to other people. To many people, Christmas has just become a commercial Holiday. It has turned into a season of selfishness. I think the biggest example of that in everyone’s mind right now is the Wal-Mart experience in New York. This mob of people was so concerned about getting a good deal, that they didn’t care about the human being that they were trampling. The few people who stopped to help him were trampled too. Now a family will be focusing on a devastating loss during what is supposed to be the “Happiest Time of the Year.” This man lost his life because someone wanted 50% off on an Ipod, or a GPS System. That’s probably the saddest thing I can think of right now.

This experience has made me re-think how I want my family to celebrate Christmas. It’s been easy to lose sight of why we celebrate this Holiday in the first place. There are so many people out there who don’t believe in God and Jesus Christ. Their reason for the season is Presents, Presents, Presents!! It has become that way even for many religious people. No matter what your faith is, the theme for this Holiday should be Service, Service, Service!!!

Don’t get me wrong…..I’m still going to decorate, buy presents for my family, and bake plenty of Holiday goodies. But I think every present that I buy for my family should be balanced out with some kind of service. Through that service I will be able to better teach others about Jesus Christ and what his life and death means to us. That is the best gift that I can give to others. It is a gift that will last much, much longer than the superficial things that last for a short while.

What are some ways that you serve others during this Holiday Season?

1 comments:

Natalia said...

What a WONDERFUL blog Molly! It is all too true. Too many people get caught up in gifts, buying, and "things" during the Holiday season. It is really about the birth of Jesus- The Son of God!