Merry Christmas! Granted, I’m one day early, but better early than late, right?
Two years ago I wrote a blog complaining about how the real meaning of Christmas is all too often forgotten in favor of commercialism. Then last year I wrote a blog about how many stores and services aren’t allowed to wish their customers a Merry Christmas, but rather have to wish them either Happy Holidays or Season’s Greetings. This year I want to talk about the hypocrisy of Christians this time of year.
As Christians, this time of year we are celebrating the joyous birth of our Savior. We are celebrating the arrival of Emmanuel (“God with us”) – the Messiah – into the world. This is supposed to be a glorious time – the most glorious time of year, followed closely by Easter. So, if this such a wonderful time of year, because we’re welcoming Christ, then why do Christians not reflect that joy in their lives?
What I mean is, why does Christmas seen to bring out the worst in people, rather than the best? When people are doing their Christmas shopping, they get more rude and aggressive. Why is that? Driving on the highway gets more risky, and feels you’re taking your life in your hands. It’s not just the highways, either – just try parking in the lot at any mall, and you’ll see what I mean. Then people get out of their cars and go into the stores, and it doesn’t stop there. They push other people out of their way, they fight over items, and they are rude to the salespeople and the clerks behind the counters. People turn into a brood of vipers (Matt. 23:33; Luke 3:7)! It’s ridiculous. Not only is it ridiculous, but it’s disgraceful! And it gets worse, not better, the closer we get to Christmas!
Do you really think that this type of behavior is what Jesus wants from His followers? How are we showing Him any respect when we treat our neighbors with such disrespect? Christmas offers us an opportunity to witness to our neighbors by showing them the love of Christ. Instead of pushing that person out of the way, why not do something nice, instead. If you are waiting in line for a long time, why not strike up a friendly conversation with the people around you, rather than getting impatient and frustrated? It will make the time go faster, and might help to keep the people around you in a positive mood, as well. If you’re at a coffee shop or snack stand at the mall, why not offer to buy for the person behind you, too? If you see someone struggling with a door or carrying a lot of bags/packages, why not hold the door for them or offer to carry some of their bags? If it’s raining or snowing and you have an umbrella and someone else doesn’t, why not offer to share? You’ll probably make someone’s day. Why not sow love by doing something self-less rather than being selfish?
I’m sure you’ve watched one of the many different versions of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol – there are certain enough of them! My personal favorite is the one with Patrick Stewart as Ebenezer Scrooge, but that is beside the point. While the only mention of Christ in this movie is in the carols that people sing, such as Silent Night, the message is important – it shows the move from self-focus to others-focus. In the end, Scrooge does nice things for other people, not for the thanks, but simply to bless someone else and because it is the right thing to do. He chose to ignore the fact that people questioned his sanity and wondered why he would do such things. As we see in Matt. 5:10-12, when we do as Christ has commanded, we are subject to persecution from the world, because others don’t understand it.
This Christmas season, why not take a step back and ask yourself, “Am I living and acting in a way that would be pleasing to Christ? Is my faith evident in my words and actions?” Before you honk [and swear] at that car who cut you off on the highway, stop and think. Before you push in front of someone to get the last of an item on the store shelf, stop and think. Before you yell and complain because the check-out line is too long or the clerk is ringing people up slower than you would like, stop and think. Stop and think. If you can’t answer those two questions, or if your answer is “No,” I think you know what that means, and what you have to do.
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Posted: Friday, November 11, 2005
Oh the joys of retail management during the holidays!
Well, it's that time again. The time of year that my company so lovingly refers to as, "The Golden Quarter"! It's the best and the worst time to work retail! The parking lots are filling up and the customers are coming into the stores en mass, which means more business, more sales, and more money.... it also means more crowds, longer hours, and more stress for me! Not to mention the fact that it also means that I have a store full of brand spanking new green employees who I have to train and keep in line. Oh the joys of retail management!
I haven't really been able to enjoy the holidays since Christmas of 1997 (I started working retail in 1998). Before I started working retail, I used to love the holiday season -- because it mean something different than it does now. Have people forgotten the reason why we're celebrating?
Thanksgiving meant giving thanks to God for all His many blessings. Now it means that I have to get up much too early to open my store at 6am to let in all the early bird shoppers who are going to fight over the products that we advertized at really low prices.
Christmas used to mean celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It used to mean going around the neighborhood singing Christmas carols. It used to mean spending time with family and friends. It used to mean attending a Christmas Eve candle-light service. It used to mean sipping hot chocolate by the fire with family while watching the snow falling outside. Now it's so commercialized that it means everyone has to buy presents and more presents for everyone who they know including their sister's best friend's ex-roomate's boyfriend's cousin's brother-in-law. (You get the point.) It's not about worshiping Christ's anymore -- it's about worshiping material posessions!
What happened to the simple joys of the Holiday Season?
I'm not even allowed to wish my customers a "Merry Christmas" anymore -- now it has to be "Happy Holidays" in order to be politically correct. My company called it, Hanachrismaramaquanza last year in order to not leave anyone out or offend anyone. (Seriously, I got a company webmail wishing me a Happy Hanachrismaramaquanza!) Well that drove me nuts! It offended me! A fellow manager (who happened to be a Shinto-Buddhist) back in my old district used to say, "Happy expanded retail holiday" because that's really all it was to him. Unfortunately, he has a point!
