Shopping is NOT what Christmas is about

The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools. Ecclesiastes 9:17 NIV

It’s not often that I will come on here and start railing….anything, especially during a series like Intentional Positivity. But this…. this irks me because we’ve allowed marketing professionals (and I can say that because I are one) to change the meaning of Christmas, to turn it into a retail extravaganza instead of a celebration of the birth of our savior. If we are not careful, this stressful season has the ability to suck the grace out of the reason we celebrate.

Now, listen…

• There is nothing wrong with presents.
• There is nothing wrong with Christmas trees, even real ones (tinsel is from the devil, but that’s another story).
• There is nothing wrong with shopping for Christmas presents.

unless that’s all Christmas has become to you and your family….

As we enter into this stressful holiday season, pray for peace, purchase within your means, and most of all, take time to be thankful for the one who gave us Jesus, who gave us the ultimate present, wrapped in a bow of thorns, and hung on a tree for all to see.

God, as I enter into this pre-holiday time, as defined by the stores and their marketing firms, I pray that you keep my focus on you and not the sales flyers. I pray that I remember, everyday to be thankful, to be positive, to be graceful in a time of the year when so many forget why we do what we do.