Many pious Christians speak of "putting Christ back into Christmas". But, using the Christ child -- rather than Santa Claus -- to justify America's annual orgy of gift giving is hardly a cause worth dying for. The Christmas season, however, is a great time for Christians to face the fact that the real challenge is to put Christ back into "Christianity", not just into the holiday.
We know that we are going up against billions of advertizing dollars, and years of "tradition", but who knows what may be possible,if God is on our side?
Although Jesus himself was the recipient of gifts at his birth, what possible connection is there between those events and the custom of comfortable people exchanging gifts among themselves? None that we can see. In fact, such a custom flies in the face of what Jesus actually taught.
Can anyone who takes Jesus seriously doubt that what Jesus would say
about America's annual orgy of "Christmas gift-giving" is what he said in :
{ Luke 14:12-14 }  "Jesus said to the one who had invited him, 'When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. Rather, when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.' "
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If 100 people were
chosen to represent the
entire world population, |
|---|
57 would be Asians , 21 would be Europeans,
8 would be Africans, and 14 would be from
North and South America |
30
would be
white |
|
70
would be
non-white |
48
would be
male |
52
would be
female |
- 80 would live in substandard housing.
- 50 would suffer from malnutrition.
- 6 of them ( all from the U.S.A.) would own
almost 60% of the entire world's wealth.
- Only 1 would have a college education.
- 70 would be unable to read.
- Only 1 of them would be looking at this message,
because the other 99 would not have a computer.
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According to www.thehungersite.com site, as of 12/12/2004, approximately 24,000 people die each day from hunger, or from hunger-related causes. That translates into one person dying every 3.6 seconds -- 74% of whom are children. The majority of hunger-related deaths are caused by chronic malnutrition. An estimated 800 million individuals -- children, mothers, fathers, grandparents -- simply cannot get enough to eat.
If God's will is represented by in Luke 3:11 "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise", then why are the millions of middle-class, as well as wealthy Christians, who have thousands of times more wealth than the poor exchanging gifts among themselves in Christ's name, instead of working to alleviate the hunger and homelessness and injustice in this world? There wouldn't nearly be so much suffering in this world, if the millions of "Christians" who are wealthy -- by the world's standards -- were being told by those who are supposed to represent him that the price of salvation which Jesus set for those with means is the helping of those without means.
 [ Norman Rockwell's masterpiece ]
Jesus' version of the Golden Rule was
"Do unto needy strangers as you would do unto him."
Why not give your family and friends a real gift this Christmas,
namely, the revelation of what Christ was really all about?
Instead of dwelling on the so-called "Christmas story" (i.e.
the birth and infancy of Christ), why not help them discover
what Christ really wanted people to know about him, i.e.
his message of love and caring for those most in need of love?
Click on the banner below to receive a Christmas gift truly worth
receiving, and worth giving to those you love most :
www.LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/Christlike
a gift from Ray Dubuque
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