And Merry Christmas

It's an old story...

Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem on a donkey.

The Baby is born and laid in a manger.

Shepherds come to see Him.

Wisemen travel to worship Him.

The end.

Let's revisit that last sentence for a sec. "Magi from the East"... what is so significant about their visit? They were always my least favorite part of the nativity scene, mainly because they were old and had beards. But when you think about it, their part in the Christmas story is pretty striking.

Now I'm no scholar. But here's what seems reasonable to me:

• the wisemen had been traveling for awhile. Even the conservative thinkers are saying they came at least a couple months after Jesus was born. Some say they came when he was two (because Herod then killed all the children two and under). Everybody seems to agree, this was not a short trip.
• the wisemen were following a star. Not a map or a gps. A star. I can't even follow maps anymore. Granted they were "Magi" and it's assumed they studied the stars, but still - it could have turned out to be just a big meteor.
• the wisemen brought crazy gifts. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Crazy for somebody to carry on a long dangerous trip, and crazy for them to give to a little kid.

Now if I was in the Christmas story, money and brain-wise I would definitely have been a shepherd. Or maybe even a sheep... But IF I was in the wisemen group - could I have done what they did? Leave my life for months or years on an uncertain, dangerous trip to follow Someone I don't know and worship Him with the best gifts I have. Now that sounds like too much for God to ask of me. Those wisemen had incredible faith.

But isn't that what He wants us to do today? Leave my life for months or years on an uncertain, dangerous trip to follow Someone I don't know and worship Him with the best gifts I have. Maybe the wisemen are an example for us. Maybe we're not talking gold and myrrh, maybe we're talking money and time and talents.

Makes the Christmas story a little more uncomfortable for me, a little more challenging. 

Also maybe a little more real?

What's next?

That post was depressing, so I have to follow it up with some constructive suggestions for how we can help. There's plenty of lit talking about the benefits of going yourself vs. sending money for food. I'm going to assume that if you are thinking about going yourself, you are proactive enough to find some websites on your own. If you're thinking about giving, here's a couple of options -

Feed The Children

Samaritan's Purse

Child sponsorship -

World Vision

Compassion International

The accountant in me wants to remind you that if you're not familiar with these orgs, check out their financials or look them up on Watchdog agencies to make sure you know how the money will be used.

Thank God Santa's coming

Yes, I have been listening to Christmas music nonstop. But radio stations have a bad habit of all going on commercial break at the same time. Collusion, I think.

Sometimes the theology of the songs just disgusts me. This is one of my favorites...

"Santa knows we're all God's children, that makes everything right
So hang your stockings and say your prayers cause Santa Claus comes tonight...
Peace on earth will come to all if we just follow the light
Let's give thanks to the Lord above cause Santa Claus comes tonight"

What light are we supposed to follow, anyway? The light from Rudolph's nose? But I digress.

The song that gets me mad, really mad, is the one that talks about "a world outside your window", "a world of dreaded fear" - but tonight, "thank God it's them instead of you".
Now I'm all in favor of finding things to be thankful for. But really? I'm thankful your life is harder than mine. Good job America, what a great lesson to teach kids.

To be fair, the song ends chanting "feed the world feed the world feed the world". But the purely selfish statement in the middle pretty much kills it for me. It's pretty close to our attitude, though, isn't it? Africa is conveniently distant, and it's so easy to get blinded by our busy little lives with all our important little problems.

I hear again and again from people that they don't like Christmas because finding the perfect gift is so stressful. While I sympathize... part of me wonders - why is shopping the main problem this month? That doesn't need to be the biggest issue that keeps us awake in our warm beds in warm houses after eating warm meals... maybe we need a change in perspective.

Which picture are you more comfortable with? Duh, I hate looking at pictures of starving kids. So if I thank God someone else's family is starving instead of mine, can I just forget about it?

Africa is far away.


Where are our priorities?

The UN says someone dies of starvation every 3.6 seconds. That's two or three people dying in the time it takes us to update a Facebook status. Well, tonight thank God it's them instead of you.

Leave the pepper spray at home

It's that time of year - malls are crowded, traffic is insane, people are EVERYWHERE. (Where do they all come from?? It's like everyone has closet families that they only let out to go shopping during the Christmas season. Actually that's not a bad idea).

Some people hate Christmas, just because of the people (ask almost anybody in retail). I can't argue - it's not like my dream trip to the store involves loud stressed mamas running over my heels with the front of their shopping cart. Trust me, you don't want to get between a Black Friday shopper and her ridiculously over-priced sale item. Apparently a few shoppers even pulled out pepper spray in multiple Walmart stores this year. 'Tis the season.

The most wonderful time of the year brings out the worst in people.
But not always.

In spite of - or because of - the extra drama, stress, and cacophony of the Christmas season - it gives us the chance to treat other human beings like real human beings. What if we started doing things like helping an enemy shopper, or treating a retail employee like you would treat your boss' wife??
It always floors me when I see somebody going against the typical self-first Christmas attitude. Like the man in the well-worn business suit, holding the door for the woman and all her crazy kids. Don't tell me he didn't have other places to be and things to do. Or the grumpy woman in the parking lot who went out of her way to help an elderly lady turn off her car alarm (it clearly was an issue of technological ignorance, not theft...). What if, every time we went to the mall, we kept our eyes open for people we could help? Looking past their unattractive attitudes and our own tight schedules, how much good could we do?

Random acts of kindness. They don't mean a whole lot if you're only nice when you're not late for work and you don't have a headache. But they can mean so much if you give a little extra in this season when - commercially - everyone is just trying to take all they can get.

To be honest, I heard the car alarm and saw the old lady today, and I didn't help. None of my business? Not a big deal if she couldn't handle her alarm? No time? Lame. Completely lame excuses.
Tomorrow's another day, and I bet you anything they'll be another test: another angry person, another stressed employee, another chance to be the selfless person. There aren't any retakes allowed on these tests. Ready?

"Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster. Your life will never be the same again." [Og Mandino]

Beginning is easy

New Year's resolutions.
A new job.
Marriage.
Starting a blog. The beginning is easy. The idea, the commitment, the initial steps are virtually effortless. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. (Arguable. Google it.) I can't give my perspective on the marriage issue, but I can definitely say that within twenty days of writing New Years resolutions or starting a new job, my original enthusiasm is pretty much history. Why would blogging be any different?

So here's the deal. I'm giving this blog a shot because there are things I want to say, to myself and to the world. There's all this stuff I'm learning about life, how it's not just about me and you, muddling through a complacent existence with a lot of other people who are equally selfish and bored. I believe we are here for a purpose, a God-given purpose, and we had better not be satisfied with anything less than the fulfillment of that purpose.

What are you here for? Just to exist - eat, sleep, work, entertain yourself - to get by with as much pleasure and as little pain as possible? Or are you here to thrive in a life that is far beyond the mediocrity that is expected of you?

I don't predict anything I post here to have a consistent theme. Other than that I want everything to connect to the idea of living - searching deeper, asking more questions, challenging yourself, learning about and doing things outside of your comfort zone, experiencing real joy and real fulfillment, and finding out what is the real reason you are on this planet.

Here's to beginning a new habit.