Chrismas Every Day

I have a friend whose gift is story telling. He doesn't even seem to be aware of this talent for telling truthful tales and yet in such memorable terms as to be legendary. Everyone who comes into contact with him finds it difficult to forget that connection they feel when he shares stories of commiseration and information.

One of my favorite tales he tells is about his father. It is more of an anecdote than a story but it is appropriate to remember this one on Father's day weekend. While many of us have tales shared from depression era parents, this one will strike a chord with all that hear it.

My friend describes that in his house (and probably in yours or your grand parent's houses as well) his father kept a candy dish. During his child hood he describes that his father always kept that candy dish filled with "Starlight Mints." As his father plucked a mint from the dish he would say "Christmas every day." He puzzled over this small eccentricity for years. One day his curiosity overcome his reluctance to question this man whose defining characteristic was stoicism and authority. "Dad, why do you keep a dish of mints in the kitchen and what does Christmas every day mean?". His dad proceeded to explain that when he was a child he always looked forward to Christmas. He, like many of our parents and grand parents had lived during the great depression. He goes on to describe his joy at Christmas when his only present was an orange or a candy cane. No electronics, no toys, or even clothes. One piece of fruit, and maybe one piece of candy. "That is why I keep candy in the dish, to remind me that now, every day is Christmas for me" said the dad.

The lesson is easy enough to see. This father convincingly taught his son a lesson about the sliding scale of what we value. Human beings have this capacity to "get used to" things. We take them for granted because of what becomes normal. An ample supply of anything causes us to lower its value. When God forgives us with Grace unlimited, we look around and see this abundant supply and begin to cheapen it because of its accessibility. "Just because Grace is free" says the cliche "doesn't mean it is cheap." Just remember as you bow to pray today, it is only because of His Grace that for all believers it is truly "Christmas every day"!

Shuffling the Deck Chairs on the Titanic

Hag 1:6 "Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes."-- Man depending on himself is like this verse. There is an old cliche describing something being useless which says: "That's like shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic." The obvious implication is that superficial and ineffective changes don't really help the true root problem. Man is constantly making changes to laws, policies and procedures to "fix" some hot button issue. The problem is not the system of government, the liberty of individuals or the temperament of the dictator, it is man. Contrary to recently "famous" posts on social media defending the "goodness" of man, the Bible is clear that man is the problem. That is not to say that men can't accomplish good things or even show compassion, but it does lead to another cliche. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." This "truism" wouldn't be resonant with us if man's propensity toward evil wasn't universal.
Original sin doesn't preclude art, beauty or charity. Man's nature is fallen and damaged but not without any value or positive attributes. This brings us to a conclusion which is reflective of the reality of history. Man invents, builds and produces but then pride, greed and the hunger for power destroy all that he creates. This is the reason that the last 2000 years of history show progression because of the influence of the Church of Christ has provided stability and a building up of technology. Even this positive movement had its dark side. Believers are not immune to the same failings as everyone else.
Looking at the changes over the last 200 or so years, especially since the enlightenment, we have seen a turning from the very foundation which allowed man to rise to this high level. Amazingly, man has rejected original sin because of Christians who, suffering from human frailty, failed in the execution of power and control during the middle ages.
Turning to today's headlines, man now thinks that the problem he has is not enough freedom. Our culture in the west has created an unprecedented freedom, but society isn't satisfied with that. We must solve every problem, we must address every heartache. Just don't tell man that he has a fallen nature. The public opinion today seems to be heading toward freedom for everything except a Christian world view. If we say that we disagree with someone's choices we are said to "hate" them. This is the new high crime of our time.
Society's answer to problems is to simply shut up descent shift the problem around. "There are too many resources wasted on enforcing drug laws, we should legalize Marijuana." This doesn't solve the abuse problem but it does shift the cost to families and localities where the people are degraded in morality and productivity because of it.
What about immigration? We don't seem to be willing to secure the borders, nor enforce the laws as they are. Man's brilliant solution to this is to legalize those who have come here illegally. The suggested solution is to pretend that this will solve all the problems caused by having this shadow culture of undocumented people here. What happens when we have the same problem in another 15 years?
Time and time again, history has shown the Bible to be true on the issue of human fallibility. Restrictions, laws, and accountability are the fertile soil in which this country grew to be the greatest in the history of the world. Yet, here we are saying that responsibility, thrift and hard work should not allow me to be rewarded by society more than someone who won't do any of those things. People will do what they have an incentive to do. Bad behavior is rewarded with fame these days. Is it any wonder so many young people today follow their example?
It will be increasingly difficult for us to bear the type of world that is coming. Value will be variable depending on who has power in a given situation. Lives will be ruined because of this shift in morals and priorities. We must be willing to pay the price in order to stand but not be hateful (like our enemies) but to stand despite the cost financially, or personally. It will require abandoning the easy life we have known and adopting a new pietism which is not dependent on our happiness but on our holiness. This type of life will resonate to those around us that despite our flaws. Genuine Christianity will always be lived by flawed humans, but that doesn't have to define it.