It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.
REM penned these insightful words sometime around 1987 and these lyrics will forever be able to be used to describe the world we live in, at least it seems that way.
I keep hearing discussions about everyone being so afraid to give any religious association to the upcoming holiday season known as Christmas. Personally I don’t care if people call it Christmas or Winter Solstice or whatever. Those who embrace Jesus and allow Him to affect their lives shouldn’t be afraid to celebrate Jesus’ birth. How can we expect those who don’t know Jesus or care about Him and what he did for them to want to celebrate the same as us? How can we not expect them to try and seperate Jesus from this time of year, just the same as they seperate Him from Easter? As for my family? We give each other gifts, put up a tree and put decorations on it, we get together and have fun and celebrate life. We also put much emphasis on Jesus’ birth and remind our kids that Christmas is not only about giving gifts and Santa, but it’s also about the Son of God who cared so much for you and I that he left the riches and comfort of Heaven to be born in a manger as a little baby and live a human life and experience the trials and pains of humanity. Though he did it without sin and in so doing was able to die as a sacrifice for our sins. Don’t let the fact that Target or some other big chain company shy’s away from the word Christmas get you in a tizzy. If you look at the history of the Christmas holiday you’ll quickly see that it has always had controversial meanings to many different people. Just remember that it’s our responsibility to celebrate and teach our kids what Christmas is to us, not Target’s or Walmart’s or Dillard’s. Merry Christmas.
- Camera: NIKON D70
- Aperture: ƒ/1.8
- Focal length: 50mm
- ISO: 200
- Shutter speed: 1/60s
Yeah, I totally agree with you. This year in particular it seems like the whole “separation of church and state” argument (which is bogus in its own right if you understand the intent of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution) has gotten out of hand in the non-government arena.
Like you, there is a sense in which it does not bother me what these stores do, in that the way I and my family choose to celebrate the holiday is not affected by Target or Dillard’s marketing campaign. If this movement is a reflection of our culture, then so be it. I would rather that the world see genuine Christians glorifying God in worship and obedience to His word than see a bunch of people fighting it while claiming the name of Christ–no matter how ridiculous it seems.
On the other hand, there is an aspect to this culture that downplays Christianity and yet focuses on other religions (that really bothers me). They call it “diversity”, but it is really a mild form of persecution and censorship.