I wrote this piece after I went downtown yesterday and saw the sign on the
store keepers window. She happens to be a member of my congregation. I
don't know if she was real excited about my questioning of her sign, her
need to get rid of overstock.
Anyhow, it is for reflection. You are free to use it with proper credit
for your newsletter and/or....
Blessed New Year.
Tom Miller pastrtom@bloomnet.com
40 % OFF CHRISTMAS
the sign said
I paused for a moment
It caught me by surprise.
40% off Christmas?
It caught her by surprise too,
I think,
When I stopped to ask,
"Which 40% of Christmas are you taking off?"
Of course, it was a after Christmas sale.
There was 40% off Christmas decorations, and the like.
But the sign just said,
"40% off Christmas"
I never got around to telling her,
But I kind of liked the sign.
You see,
I'd like to take about 40% off Christmas too
Not in an after Christmas sale, mind you,
But in the before Christmas time--
What if we'd take about 40% off the time that we have to endure the pre-
Christmas, ads, sales, and marketing campaign? Maybe we could enjoy the
season a bit more, and not be so fed up with it all by mid-December.
What if we'd diminish our expectations of what makes a "Merry Christmas" by
about 40%? Maybe we could not be so depressed when it is all over. Or
maybe, just maybe we could relate a bit better to those for whom Christmas
isn't very "merry" at all--the grieving, the sick, those who are alone, the
poor.
Or what if, we'd spend about 40% less on gifts, parties, clothes, and
dinners? Maybe we would still give, enjoy, and share in ways that brought
true glory to the God who gave the first gift--the gift of Jesus.
Maybe we ought to take off about 40% of the things we do, the lights we put
up, the pageants we go to, the time we run to shop for that one last gift.
Such a discount might make way for us to give more time for focus on what
really matters in Christmas.
I, for one, happen to think that Christmas has gotten way out of hand.
Too much, too early for way too long.
Time, money, energy, and all the rest.
I, for one, happen to think that a 40% discount isn't a bad idea at all.
Stripping away 40% would leave 60%.
40% off Christmas leaves CHRIST--
And that's what this Day, and the 12 days following (not the 2 months before)
are all about anyway--
The Christ,
God's gift of salvation.
Jesus
God's Son who grew up to live, die and rise again for forgiveness of sins
It's about how God first gave, so we could serve God,
and bring glory to our Creator,
by giving for each other.
So, let's do it!!
40% off Christmas
Then CHRIST will be left
and we can celebrate the real reason for the season
by Tom O. Miller
Bloomfield, NE
December 28, 1999