Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Christmas is a truly wonderful American holiday that is one of the last anchors for the family in our society. Despite whether one is a believer or not, seeing family at Christmas is a top priority for most in our society. Gift-giving ... at least for a moment ... potentially draws the focus off of oneself and onto certain special others. Let's not forget that glorious bird who lays down his life every year for us ... and turkey gravy, turkey sandwiches, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pies ... well you get my point.
Yet, in watching my baby girl tear into her presents this morning ... as well as tearing into everyone else's presents ... tore into a certain part of my heart. "Mine, mine, mine," was her anthem. Now you might well say that "mine, mine, mine" is the anthem of every 2-year-old, and you are certainly correct in this dry bit of factual information. However, the implication is on the naughty list. As our society grows infinintly more secular, I'm afraid that the "mine-mine-mine" anthem lasts a bit longer past toddler-age than ripped-up wrapping paper. I know many adults (myself included at times) whose anthem is merely a more sophisticated version of "mine, mine, mine." In my favorite movie, "A Christmas Story," the mom asks her two present-happy boys and worn-out, syncial husband if everyone is ready for Christmas to begin. This morning I even found myself teaching my baby-girl to say "Merry Christmas" after the paper-ripping fest.
While I am certainly not advocating the complete abandonment of gift-giving as a major facet of Christmas, as a believer and as a decent human being, I wish to train my children in civility and train them out of barbarity. The root of this is found in who Jesus is and was ... this Jesus who came "to give his life as a ransom for many" and "came not to be served but to serve." May we not deceive ourselves into thinking we are serving the children in our subsidizing of barbaric "mine-mine-mine" attitudes through indulging their commercialized whims and fantasies. Rather may we train our children to truly worship the same Jesus that the original St. Nicholas truly worshipped (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus). May we train them to be givers and producers rather than merely consumers.
No comments:
Post a Comment