Gratitude To Greed
How was your Thanksgiving? The trouble is, even before we could really contemplate our gratitude, this world is churning out its marketing ploy for Christmas, instigating dissatisfaction and greed.Even though we all say that we hate the merchandising of Christmas, we give way to it. The message of Jesus’ birth was lost a long time ago, and now the greed that took over Christmas has invaded Thanksgiving too. Black Friday is now Black Thanksgiving. Sad.But I want to challenge you to be different. Make this Christmas one of your most special ever, and enjoy it like the rest of the world cannot. It’s totally up to you to change the way you and your family do Christmas. As followers of Jesus, we can be different. And we ought to be.Here’s my challenge: back off the merchandising. Make the decision now, that the specialness of Christmas is not going to be based on what your kids get or what you buy. It’s not until we reject the world’s call to credit card debt and extravagant Christmas lists that we can sincerely focus on what we say matters most at Christmas. Even in most Christian families, kids are far more excited about what they are getting than they are about Jesus’ birth. Let’s stop criticizing what the world is doing and start concentrating on how we make Christmas about Jesus, for our own families.I heard a great suggestion from a mom author, a couple of years ago. She suggested to parents to ask their children for a list of only three items:
- Something that will bring you closer to Jesus (devotional book, Bible).
- Something that you will wear (clothing, jewelry, perfume).
- Something that you want.
That’s it…just three items.How would something like that change Christmas for your family? How would that ease the pressure you feel this time of year, to fill out those gift lists and the financial weight that comes along with it. That emotional change alone might be just the perfect gift that your kids need all the more––a mom or dad with a lot less holiday stress. I can tell you this, the Ziegler kids remember our best Christmases as the ones we gave away (i.e. missions trip instead of gifts).While there is instant gratification in gift-giving for parents and gift-receiving for kids, the long-term affects are not positive and the end result is this greed-based Christmas that has become an out-of-control merchandising frenzy. You’re not going to change Woodfield Mall, Amazon, or Target, but you can change your family and what they value most this time of year.Please, don’t let Thanksgiving morph into greed. Honor Jesus as the extraordinary gift that he is, and make him your focus in the weeks ahead.