It is the most wonderful time of the year! Choose now how you will use this special season to create memories, enjoy your family, and avoid the attitude of Christmas being a “burden or bother.” Remember without fail that Christmas is about a “Babe Born in a Manger” (Luke 2).
Embrace the calendar and schedule special times like cookie baking or Christmas movie watching as a family. As the media threatens a low supply of gifts that will be available, be reminded that it is not the “gifts” of Christmas that make Christmas what it is, but rather the fellowship. This is a great time of year to emphasize to our children a focus on the “spirit” of the season and not the “get all you can” part of the season. As adults we are hard pressed to remember the material gifts of our childhood, but we do remember traditions.
It is always wise and of great benefit to choose to enjoy the holidays with a nice pace and avoid having the holiday season “own” you. Choose to enjoy all that this time of year presents us. There is a reason that “present” in the sense of now is the same word as present in the sense of a gift. We get Christmas 2021 once. Make every effort to direct your dialogue toward trying to make a positive difference for others in the Spirit of Christmas and the birth of Christ. The Apostle Paul spoke these words:
And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Acts 20:35 (NLT)
If Jesus said it, that settles it; it “is” more blessed to give than to receive. This season offers us a great opportunity to keep the “right” heart and attitude about Christmas at the center of our plans and purposes. The “entitlement” attitude of our contemporary culture will only be turned around one person at a time, and it can begin in our home.
Parental competition weighs heavy on our courage and boldness to keep Christmas real and purposeful in the lives of our children. Our testimony on what truly is important must be lived out before them. Proverbs 9:12: “If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.”
Giving is important because it makes our children less self-centered. In order to truly experience “giving” at its best, it must cost them something.
But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it, for I cannot present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing.” So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen.
2 Samuel 24:24
Giving cultivates in our children a depth of character. Those who never give become shallow, self-centered, and miserable adults. Dave Ramsey says a closed fist works both ways, nothing goes out and nothing comes in. Remember that Jesus came so that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. John 10:10 (NLT): “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” Christmas is the celebration of His birth!
