Thursday, December 9, 2010

Loving the scrooges in your Christmas season

Christmas is a wonderful time of year for many. And for many others, it is not a wonderful time of year. This season God especially prickled my heart to pray for those in the later category. While I have always given abundantly during the holidays and spread Christmas cheer from stranger to friend, I know I can do more. Actually, it’s not about doing more it’s about doing what I should have always done first. Giving gifts is a great idea but gifts preceded with prayer…wow that is truly impacting! Remember that gift giving was first God’s idea!

And while needs for others and ourselves seem immense, and they are especially revealed during this season, pairing praying and gift giving adds power to our gifts or nonexistent gifts that we hoped to give but were not able to due to finances.

This year especially God has burden my heart to pray for the known needs of people I don’t know. Sounds weird right?! Its about knowing the true reality that people are cold, hungry, with out family, dealing with a loss during Christmas for the first time, ect, and though I cant  put a face to the need I pray anyways because God can put a face to a need. 

While we all can think of a person that reminds us of the mean scrooge portrayed in A Christmas Carol, don't forget that underneath Scrooge's facade was a lonely human being. And then there are all those who are hurting and don't wear Scrooge's mean facade. We tend to want to help these more, but the mean scrooges need love as well. The mean scrooges are just testing you, if you hang in there they will drop their countenance and smile at you. I’ve seen this so many times and it wipes away any mean remark they spat at me.

So let the scrooges try to ruffle your feathers and as they poke you and they prod you, you will say “You, Mr. Scrooge are more important than me” as he cuts you off in his roadster, as he grabs the last carton of egg nog, as he smirks at you and runs past you in the Christmas version of the Amazing race that we all compete in each year. You won’t care when you draw the short straw and are the last instead of the first, it will be a delight.

Lets get back to preceding our gifts with prayer or substituting or gifts with prayer. Just like the wise man asked the angel, “How will we find this Christ,” I know you are asking, “How do we find these people to pray for. If your eyes are open wide you will not need to look far?” They can be found as easily as the wise men found Christ by looking to the Star.

But getting by In Christ through Christmas is more than about dealing with scrooges it is about giving as a remember ace of God’s gift.…
  
From a young age my mom and I would go through the same struggle each year. While I did my fair share of griping for certain gifts I hoped would end up under the Christmas tree I also begged my mom to allow me to give gifts to my neighbors, school friends, strangers, family, etc. Yes, my poor mother. We would haggle first on who we were able to purchase a gift for and second on the amount I could spend on the gifts. Our family did not have a large income so I don't know what I was thinking to ask my mother of so much. And I am still going through that struggle today with my husband. If you are like me, and love to give, Christmas can be overwhelming. And even if you are not like me, the Christmas season can cause certain spiritual gifts to poke at your heart more prominently than during other seasons. So, what do you do if you have a giver's heart and not a lot of cash? Pray for them. I know it sounds weird. A prayer sounds like a shabby gift but it really is the best gift to give. You don’t even have to let them know you prayed for them as their Christmas gift. I know, it takes away from giving something tangible, especially if you don't tell them...but treasure and tangible are not the same.

Shouldn’t our Christmas gifts be similar the Christmas gift we are all celebrating, the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Which, if your think about it, is there anything tangible about that? You can’t hang Jesus on the wall or place him prominently on your hand. He isn’t a yummy treat to eat or something new to wear. When I think about tangible outcomes of God’s Christmas gift all I see is the cross Christ hung upon for our sins. So how did Christmas become a season wrapped up in tangible gift giving? I’m not saying gift giving is wrong (we writers like to portray the extreme).  But we have made it a display of wealth instead of love. Even if you don’t worry about the gifts you receive, you still worry about the gifts you give.

But even the gifts from the wise men don’t represent a gift of equality. Their gold, frankincense, and myrrh were nothing compared to God’s gift. They were just trying to give from their own riches to honor the king. So often I try to give a gift that represent equality. I consider what the recipient may give me try to match their gift degree. Its so silly, but true! And it definitely does not help me be a good steward of what God has given me because there are many people I know that I will never match their gift degree.

And with that, Merry Christmas!

No comments: