JackTrade's Blog

     Merry Christmas.

      I am sad this Christmas Eve.  I have read and seen reports of thefts of Christmas presents from cars and homes, and even thefts of decorations from the front yards of people's homes.  It seems like the grinches are out in force this year.

     Worse than that, it seems the meaning of Christmas has been hijacked.  I went out with a group the other night to see the lights.  Yes,  they were beautiful.  But I came away depressed.  I remember not too long ago when the true meaning of Christmas was expressed in yard decorations.  There were many beautiful manger scenes depicting the birth of Jesus.  There was  Mary, Joseph, and the Babe, lying in a manger, surrounded by shepherds and various animals.  Some had the wise men coming from the east to give their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  There were small ones, and there were large, ornate ones.  Both types were beautiful displays of the ultimate Christmas gift to the world, Christ Himself.  This year, I counted ony eleven.

     The true meaning of Christmas has been hijacked,  first, by a certain organization that pretends to fight for people's Constitutional rights, but is actually trying to destroy the rights of Christians to religious worship.  Their hypocritical pretense is masked  by the idea of giving more freedom to other religions.  What they so conveniently overlook is the fact that this country was  founded by Christians and those who lived under the Christian value system, not by any other, be they Buddhists, Shamans, or Muslims.  I'm sure this organization would be dismissed out of hand by any other religion that would gain control of the U. S.  If any do, then you can bet freedom of religion would be a thing of the past.  I don't even want to think about being under Sheria law. 

      The true meaning of Christmas is also being  hijacked by commercialism.  Greed has taken over the spirit of the holidays.  Even children want elaborate and expensive toys and electronics, causing less than wealthy parents to go into ridiculous debt to purchase them.  Then sometimes the kid spends more time playing with the box than the item inside it! 

     Also, everyone appears to be trying to "keep up with the Joneses," or even surpass them. One-upman ship is not in the true spirit of Christmas.  It is opposed to the spirit of love and humility.  Christ humbled Himself in order be His Father's gift to the world.  Read Philippians 2:5-11 in the Bible.  This is the true spirit of Christmas.

     As a sign  I saw the other night said, "Wise men still seek Him."