everything that's on my mind
(as if there's not already enough people doing this)Thursday, December 22, 2005
Jesus at Wal-Mart
Okay, here's the deal: I'm really tired of all of the nonsense about "Happy Holidays" vs "Merry Christmas." Why? Because it's stupid.
It seems to get worse every year. I mentioned in a recent post some news stories regarding certain retail stores choosing "Happy Holidays" over "Merry Christmas", others choosing to not allow the Salvation Army outside of their stores, and the President sending out cards using "holiday" instead of "Christmas". And of course, Christians all over the country are bent out of shape about these things, including boycotting certain stores. It seems that some people feel that it is our right - as Christians, or as Americans, or maybe both - to have "Merry Christmas" and reminders of Jesus' birth visible everywhere we go. The idea seems to be that people should be forced to recognize Christmas (as a religious holiday) whether they want to or not.
Now, I'll admit - I don't get it from the other side, either. I don't know why people are so intent on removing Merry Christmas. The fact is, Christmas is as much a secular holiday as a religious one, perhaps more so. The average person, at the mention of Christmas, probably thinks of Santa Claus, decorated trees and gift-giving before the birth of Jesus comes to mind. So I personally don't understand why people would be so offended by it to begin with. If I walked into Best Buy and saw a "Happy Hannakuh" sign, I simply wouldn't care.
Also, I realize it's a cultural thing, too. Whether religious or secular, most middle-aged and older folks in this country grew up with Christmas all around them in December. Christmas trees, decorations, Santa and reindeer - it was all there. And if some of that is taken away, or toned down to some degree, it just doesn't seem right. Christmas has changed. But that's not really what the boycotters are objecting to - they say that Christ is being taken out of Christmas. It's a religious issue.
My question is this, though: from a Christian perspective, what do these things really mean? How is the church's mission impacted by them? Nobody is telling churches to stop celebrating Jesus' birth. If Wal-Mart fails to display "Merry Christmas" banners, if the Salvation Army isn't ringing their (exceptionally annoying) bells outside of Target, and if their employees, as well as the President, don't wish us a merry Christmas, are we destined for failure? Are large numbers of people coming into a relationship with Christ at local discount retailers every December that I'm unaware of? What is the message of Christmas, anyway - "God with us" or "Merry Christmas from Wal-Mart"? Whose job is it to recognize and celebrate Jesus' birth and share His story with others - Target or the church?
I suspect most people going shopping in December aren't looking for Jesus. They're looking for stuff to buy, and on occasion they're fighting one another to do so. Again, as I said in the earlier post, don't we have better things to do than complain and boycott? More important things to do? Is it any wonder we so often have a bad image among unbelievers?
Instead of spending so much time and energy making our objections over holiday policies known to retailers, maybe we should be spending that time and energy making Jesus known to the world, and doing so without embarrassing him.
It seems to get worse every year. I mentioned in a recent post some news stories regarding certain retail stores choosing "Happy Holidays" over "Merry Christmas", others choosing to not allow the Salvation Army outside of their stores, and the President sending out cards using "holiday" instead of "Christmas". And of course, Christians all over the country are bent out of shape about these things, including boycotting certain stores. It seems that some people feel that it is our right - as Christians, or as Americans, or maybe both - to have "Merry Christmas" and reminders of Jesus' birth visible everywhere we go. The idea seems to be that people should be forced to recognize Christmas (as a religious holiday) whether they want to or not.
Now, I'll admit - I don't get it from the other side, either. I don't know why people are so intent on removing Merry Christmas. The fact is, Christmas is as much a secular holiday as a religious one, perhaps more so. The average person, at the mention of Christmas, probably thinks of Santa Claus, decorated trees and gift-giving before the birth of Jesus comes to mind. So I personally don't understand why people would be so offended by it to begin with. If I walked into Best Buy and saw a "Happy Hannakuh" sign, I simply wouldn't care.
Also, I realize it's a cultural thing, too. Whether religious or secular, most middle-aged and older folks in this country grew up with Christmas all around them in December. Christmas trees, decorations, Santa and reindeer - it was all there. And if some of that is taken away, or toned down to some degree, it just doesn't seem right. Christmas has changed. But that's not really what the boycotters are objecting to - they say that Christ is being taken out of Christmas. It's a religious issue.
My question is this, though: from a Christian perspective, what do these things really mean? How is the church's mission impacted by them? Nobody is telling churches to stop celebrating Jesus' birth. If Wal-Mart fails to display "Merry Christmas" banners, if the Salvation Army isn't ringing their (exceptionally annoying) bells outside of Target, and if their employees, as well as the President, don't wish us a merry Christmas, are we destined for failure? Are large numbers of people coming into a relationship with Christ at local discount retailers every December that I'm unaware of? What is the message of Christmas, anyway - "God with us" or "Merry Christmas from Wal-Mart"? Whose job is it to recognize and celebrate Jesus' birth and share His story with others - Target or the church?
I suspect most people going shopping in December aren't looking for Jesus. They're looking for stuff to buy, and on occasion they're fighting one another to do so. Again, as I said in the earlier post, don't we have better things to do than complain and boycott? More important things to do? Is it any wonder we so often have a bad image among unbelievers?
Instead of spending so much time and energy making our objections over holiday policies known to retailers, maybe we should be spending that time and energy making Jesus known to the world, and doing so without embarrassing him.
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I just stumbled across this post today, and I wish I'd read it sooner. This was the most poignant piece I've seen written on the Christmas "controversy." I just printed it out for next year when Bill O'Reilly will likely rekindle this fire for ratings next Christmas.
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