Some Good News about Christmas
In light of my rant on Halloween, I am excited to bring you some good news about Christmas. After the fallout of the "Merry Christmas" / "Happy Holidays" debate last year, many corporations have come around. Wal-Mart, Kohls, and Macys have announced that they will be loudly and proudly greeting their customers with "Merry Christmas" rather than the politically correct and impotent "Happy Holidays." These large retailers discovered from a year-long study that they lost business from angry Christians who were turned away by the "Happy Holidays" greeting. By heralding "Merry Christmas" to the crowds, they will see sales increase back to pre-"Happy Holidays" levels.
What a victory for Christians! Because of our pressure and voiced displeasure, we have been successful at putting the commercialism back into Christmas. I now feel more emboldened to embrace materialism again as I celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus.
What a victory for Christians! Because of our pressure and voiced displeasure, we have been successful at putting the commercialism back into Christmas. I now feel more emboldened to embrace materialism again as I celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus.
posted by RevDave at 11:21 AM
3 Comments:
When I think of the adjective, "angry" to describe another adjective, "Christian" I think of Jesus. Jesus started this whole Christian movement and he got angry on occasion. Looking at the people and situations that brought about his anger were religious leaders and other temple people, not holiday shoppers and merchants... that I recall.
He overturned the tables of those who were openly robbing from God and profitting from the deception in the temple.
He's angry when people prevent others from coming to know him, whether they are a small child or seeking adult.
The parables he tells speak to a broken heart about social injustice and other heartaches. He desires us to be a salve, a healing balm on his behalf to the pain and suffering we know is all around us. I'm with you on this one Dave. We've missed many of the points. How we address one another should be as loving and gracious as possible. Our responses should be the same to those wishing us well.
I just can't imagine Jesus getting angry because someone at a place of business wished him a "Happy Holiday." But as always... I could be wrong. :)
I heard one TV preacher say this morning that we should "say things even if they offend" and shouldn't worry if the world "says terrible things about us." After all, people said insulting things to Jesus.
But... as I recall, the only thing Jesus said that offended anyone was to religious people. And the only people who insulted Jesus were religious people. Why then do we take that as a license to attack and offend those in the world who do not follow Christ?
As this pastor said, Christians who are "sensitive" to the lost world just weaken the gospel. Fight, take a stand, he said. I just don't get why we would want to anger people who don't know Jesus when Jesus didn't do that.
I don't get angry at someone wishing me Happy Holidays, although it does annoy me. Because, I know the push behind a Happy Holiday wish is the world system that wants to rob the Lord of His glory. I don't berate them, I just wish them Merry Christmas in return. I did this to a Muslim at work, matter of fact that is how I found out he was a muslim. After I wished him Merry Christmas he said,"I am Muslim." I said, "That's okay, I'm Christian." I think he was offended.
Do you think I crossed the line?
Josh
Tacoma, Washington
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