INSPIRE BELIEVE GROW WRITER CONTRIBUTION
I Sound Like Scrooge
And I’m not going to apologize
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13: 20–21 (NIV)
I didn’t put up a Christmas tree last year. I’m not sure I have the energy or the desire to decorate this year. I decided that if a tree is erected this season, it would be with the help of my grandsons.
Does that seem Scroogish?
Maybe it is, but I’m tired of trying to have “the most fun-filled old-fashioned family Christmas ever,” as Clark Griswald stated in the movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
The old-fashioned Christmas is gone, a thing of the past, never to return. And how good was that Christmas anyway? We certainly know that the birth of Jesus was way less than desirable. Mary and Joseph couldn’t even get a room, so they stayed in a very unsanitary barn.
There was no doctor, nurse, or midwife to assist and no family to help celebrate. Mary had no epidural. The ears of the stable animals met her screams of pain. Jesus is God in the flesh, the King of the world, for crying out loud! Was this night all cracked up to what it should have been?
Well, frankly, it was! It was beautifully perfect in its simplicity.
So why do I work so hard celebrating in a way that God never expected?
Do I set my hopes and expectations so incredibly high that I sabotage my plans to include joy? I admit that I have. In trying to have it all, I end up with less: less sleep, less money, less energy, less merriment, less peace . . . less Christmas. The holidays end up becoming hopeless instead of hopeful. And we wonder why so many suicides occur during this time of year.
So here are my Christmas plans. I’m not sending out any Christmas cards. I’m not baking any Christmas cookies. I’m not buying many presents, and I’m not going to decorate. I say, “Bah Humbug!” and I’m not going to apologize.
I want to listen to God’s small voice directing me in the ways I should go. He will not burden me or give me jobs too big to complete. His yoke is easy, not hard, and His burden is light, not heavy.
I will allow Him to do His work through me. He can be my strength, stamina, and help. He will equip me with every good thing to do His will, and He will work through me to be pleasing to the Lord. It’s a Christmas that is doable for me.
The true way will bring glory to His name, and what better gift can we give Him?
So who all wants to join the Scrooge bandwagon? We don’t need to be mean, stingy, crotchety, or unloving like Scrooge, but maybe all the other things we tag onto the holiday are unnecessary. Perhaps, if you tell all the junk, “Bah humbug!” goodwill, peace, and joy will follow.
Let’s try it and see!
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