Off Comes The Beard
Posted: January 2nd, 2010, 8:24 am
HEALING SHELTER MINISTRIES #134e, Written 02JAN10
Off Comes The Beard
by rev. dave c
I really like Christmas. As far back as I can remember, I always have. Before I became a Christian, I liked Christmas for the decorations, the music, the tree, the food, the parties, the time off, and the presents—but more than that, I liked Christmas for the pervasive, permeating attitude of hopeful expectation generally exhibited by everyone. People were in a better mood, they smiled more, they dressed up, and everywhere you went you could see evidence that there was something uniquely special about Christmas. Since coming to Christ almost 30 years ago, I have increasingly grown to appreciate Christmas as the cultural, the communal, and my familial/personal appreciation that the Son of God came down from heaven as the miraculously conceived, but naturally born Son of Man. Over the past 16 years, God has also welded the celebration, the meaning, of Resurrection Sunday (Easter) in my spirit to the joys of the advent of Jesus Christ some 2,000 years ago. Without His crucifixion and resurrection, there is not much to celebrate regarding His birth.
For at least the past 125 years there have always been two parallel Christmas agendas in our nation. One is the expression of humbly joyful gratitude for a loving all powerful Creator Who cares enough for mankind (me and you) to send His Son to earth to be one us, to afford us the opportunity to be forgiven, to be filled with His presence, and to spend eternity with Him—if only we choose to accept His proffered mercy and grace. That Christmas is the sacred Holy Day Season. The other Christmas, of course, is the holiday season. It is filled with Santa Clause, reindeer, and snowmen. This second, secular, Christmas is further divided into one that is “G” rated for kids, and those rated from “PG-13” to “R” and beyond for adults. The first Christmas is fueled by the Holy Spirit. The second holiday is fueled by the spirit of humanism and ranges ultimately to the spirits of alcohol, and worse.
Now, I’m beginning to see a third Christmas surfacing in our society. Although “Christmas” is not an appropriate moniker. In fact, you can’t even call it the “Holiday Season”. It is truly becoming a “Winter Celebration” that begins in October and ends in March. Until a year ago, I naively thought that the battle for Christmas was between those who follow Jesus and those who follow Santa. Four Decembers ago I noticed that Jesus was being removed altogether and the battle was beginning to be waged between the far too religious “Saint” Nicolas (Santa Clause for pity’s sake!!!) and Frosty the Snowman. As an attempt at exaggeration in order to make a point, I suggested that our nation elevate Jose’ Cuervo to the status of official Winter Solstice Spokesperson and be done with it. I am not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet, but Lord help me, as it turns out Jose is definitely in the running.
20 years ago I was working two jobs so that my wife could stay home with our newborn son. Money was scarce the first two years and in 1990 we couldn’t afford a Christmas tree. Having waited until 4:00 pm on Christmas Eve to finish our shopping in hopes of getting the absolute best deals available, I stayed home with our 15 month old while my wife fought the last minute crowds at Wal-Mart. When she came home, she was smiling from ear to ear as she dragged a beautiful 6’ Scotch Pine through the front door. At closing time the local Wal-Mart manager had announced that they were giving away the last of their trees to anyone who wanted one. We stayed up half the night decorating our first Christmas tree with paper chains, strings of popcorn, miscellaneous items posing as ornaments, and an old set of lights given to my wife by her mother. The look of wonder on my son’s face when he rose the next morning put Wal-Mart into a much appreciated and very affectionate place in my heart.
Over the years, God has continually blessed us in all ways, and that includes a dramatic increase in income. I have never forgotten the corporate kindness two decades ago of what has become a global department store giant. It became our habit to add a few more decorations every year as focused on one special, more expensive piece—like a large snow globe or music box that was Nativity centered. For almost a score of years, by far and away, the lion’s share of our Christmas budget has been spent at Wal-Mart for decorations, gifts, and holiday groceries. I would say 90% would be a fair estimate. Until Christmas 2008.
I think of Christmas at Wal-Mart as bell ringers at both doors; as a large cordoned off area of the parking lot for hundreds of cut pine trees; as lots and lots of bright and shiny decorations (for sale and for the store itself); as having new as well as traditional outside hang-up/stand-up/light-up/blow-up Christmas everythings; as isles and isles of point of purchase displays with fantastic bargains on food, books, tools, movies, music, clothes, women’s things, men’s things, and TOYS! There were also things that I had always taken for granted—Nativities of all shapes, sorts, and sizes; ‘Jesus is the reason for the season’ sentiments; special displays of special purchase Christian books and Bibles for all ages; and Christian apparel for men, women, and children.
Then during the Christmas 2008 shopping season I noticed that there weren’t many Manger scenes—not for sale as crèches, as snow globes, as music boxes, as ornaments, or as jewelry. There weren’t many Christmas Story books for kids or their parents (much less Bibles, books about Christianity generally, or Jesus specifically). There weren’t many items of clothing expressing a Christian Christmas attitude—and absolutely every bit of Christian oriented clothing for men had been removed (no Christian themed ties, T-shirts, or ball caps at our local store). I noticed that there weren’t very many center isle kiosks featuring Holly-Jolly Christmas specials for much of anything. And I noticed that the Wal-Mart helpers weren’t smiling much and they were pretty cautious about offering you a, “Merry Christmas!” Quite frankly, I chalked it up to a temporary decline in socio-political confidence and economic insecurity. My wife and I had even wondered if it was due to all the problems with Chinese imports making Americans sick (or dead). I spent maybe 75% of my budget at Wal-Mart that year. I was pretty confident that Wal-Mart would be back in full swing during Christmas 2009.
I was wrong. In spite of our local store going all out for Halloween decorations, store themes, and displays of party food and drink suggestions back in October; come November, there was a dearth of preparations for the real upcoming Holiday Season (does it bother anyone else that during the past few years you can buy strings of light up skulls, bats, and pumpkins, as well as garlands of skeletons?). We thought that maybe they were waiting for the passing of “Black Friday” and then they would hit Christmas full force. It didn’t happen. The main isles remained empty of all but displays of batteries. There were essentially no store decorations. There were precious few special holiday presentations of food, or tools, or clothing, or much of anything else.
One week before Christmas Day, I made a tour of our local Wal-Mart looking for Christian themed merchandise for friends, family, and the kids who attend our church. You know what I found? Besides the normal, everyday selection of Bibles and Christian “bestsellers”, the only reading material about the Birth of Jesus were three little cardboard books for toddlers. I didn’t find a single Nativity scene of any sort anywhere in the store. Even more surprising, there was very little Christmas merchandise, period. I discovered that I could stand in a half dozen places in the building and turn a full 360 degrees and see absolutely no evidence of the Holidays. Ironically, the only Christian children’s gift-bag stuffers I could find were $1 each sparkly tree ornaments in the shape of the Cross, and some Cross embossed ‘thank you’ cards. For those, I am grateful.
And then it happened. As I was getting ready to leave the store I saw what amounted to the only display of seasonal men’s clothing: Two wracks of underwear at the top of the men’s department front and center of the store’s main isle (a prime merchandising location). The boxers were variously decorated with South Park cartoon kids wearing Santa outfits and throwing snowballs, or with ‘special’ holiday Harley-Davidson logos, or with UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) death-heads. There you have it. Christmas 2009 at Wal-Mart. The thousands of years old celebration of the miraculous birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ reduced to pairs of men’s underwear advertising a crude and blasphemous cartoon show, the favored motorcycle of the Hell’s Angels, and a television show that glorifies humanity at it’s most brutal.
I spoke to a floor manager, who quickly sensed that I was not happy and suggested I speak to the store manager. I told the store manager that I was offended by the total lack of Christian representation in his store during the second most holy day season of the Church and that I felt Wal-Mart was discriminating against Christians by it’s willingness to offer merchandise that opposes all that Christianity stands for, without offering merchandise that supports our faith. He responded by telling me that he has been a practicing Christian his whole life, there is no discrimination, and that he is subject to the dictates of Corporate and limited by his vendors. I think there might be a real future for this man in national politics. He’d fit right in.
For me, here’s the bottom line: If Wal-Mart (or any other merchandiser, for that matter) doesn’t want to celebrate the real Holy Days of Christmas with me and my family, we certainly don’t have to celebrate it with them. While we’re not planning on boycotting their stores, we are working on weaning ourselves from a 90% plus dependence on their merchandise—even if it means spending a little more per item elsewhere. This year we spent about 50% of our holiday budget at Wal-Mart. Next year, we’re planning on more like 20-25%. That’s my New Year’s resolution.
I never thought I’d get excited about a life-sized, light-up plastic nativity scene, but this year I thanked a local bank for being willing to publicly declare on their lawn, “The Reason For The Season” with just such a display. I made it a point to thank every store that I entered for at least being willing to decorate with garlands, snowmen, Santa Clause, and reindeer—even if they didn’t include depictions of the Nativity. Christmas is no longer a battle between the Christ Child and Santa Clause. We are now fighting for the existence of a special holiday season, period. We must not let the Winter Solstice people (who begin their pagan season with Halloween and end it with the spring equinox) win the hearts and minds of our youth; not to mention the shelves of our stores and the quarterly reports of our national businesses.
He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver himself, nor say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?" (Is 44:20; NASV). Like our national representatives, the governing powers that be at Wal-Mart just don’t get it. They used to, but not any more. We still have the vote and we still get to choose where we spend our money. Without Jesus there is no hope...no joy...and no peace on earth. Without Jesus, there is no Christmas. Without Jesus, there is no you and me. God bless you today, tomorrow, and throughout the New Year.
Off Comes The Beard
by rev. dave c
I really like Christmas. As far back as I can remember, I always have. Before I became a Christian, I liked Christmas for the decorations, the music, the tree, the food, the parties, the time off, and the presents—but more than that, I liked Christmas for the pervasive, permeating attitude of hopeful expectation generally exhibited by everyone. People were in a better mood, they smiled more, they dressed up, and everywhere you went you could see evidence that there was something uniquely special about Christmas. Since coming to Christ almost 30 years ago, I have increasingly grown to appreciate Christmas as the cultural, the communal, and my familial/personal appreciation that the Son of God came down from heaven as the miraculously conceived, but naturally born Son of Man. Over the past 16 years, God has also welded the celebration, the meaning, of Resurrection Sunday (Easter) in my spirit to the joys of the advent of Jesus Christ some 2,000 years ago. Without His crucifixion and resurrection, there is not much to celebrate regarding His birth.
For at least the past 125 years there have always been two parallel Christmas agendas in our nation. One is the expression of humbly joyful gratitude for a loving all powerful Creator Who cares enough for mankind (me and you) to send His Son to earth to be one us, to afford us the opportunity to be forgiven, to be filled with His presence, and to spend eternity with Him—if only we choose to accept His proffered mercy and grace. That Christmas is the sacred Holy Day Season. The other Christmas, of course, is the holiday season. It is filled with Santa Clause, reindeer, and snowmen. This second, secular, Christmas is further divided into one that is “G” rated for kids, and those rated from “PG-13” to “R” and beyond for adults. The first Christmas is fueled by the Holy Spirit. The second holiday is fueled by the spirit of humanism and ranges ultimately to the spirits of alcohol, and worse.
Now, I’m beginning to see a third Christmas surfacing in our society. Although “Christmas” is not an appropriate moniker. In fact, you can’t even call it the “Holiday Season”. It is truly becoming a “Winter Celebration” that begins in October and ends in March. Until a year ago, I naively thought that the battle for Christmas was between those who follow Jesus and those who follow Santa. Four Decembers ago I noticed that Jesus was being removed altogether and the battle was beginning to be waged between the far too religious “Saint” Nicolas (Santa Clause for pity’s sake!!!) and Frosty the Snowman. As an attempt at exaggeration in order to make a point, I suggested that our nation elevate Jose’ Cuervo to the status of official Winter Solstice Spokesperson and be done with it. I am not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet, but Lord help me, as it turns out Jose is definitely in the running.
20 years ago I was working two jobs so that my wife could stay home with our newborn son. Money was scarce the first two years and in 1990 we couldn’t afford a Christmas tree. Having waited until 4:00 pm on Christmas Eve to finish our shopping in hopes of getting the absolute best deals available, I stayed home with our 15 month old while my wife fought the last minute crowds at Wal-Mart. When she came home, she was smiling from ear to ear as she dragged a beautiful 6’ Scotch Pine through the front door. At closing time the local Wal-Mart manager had announced that they were giving away the last of their trees to anyone who wanted one. We stayed up half the night decorating our first Christmas tree with paper chains, strings of popcorn, miscellaneous items posing as ornaments, and an old set of lights given to my wife by her mother. The look of wonder on my son’s face when he rose the next morning put Wal-Mart into a much appreciated and very affectionate place in my heart.
Over the years, God has continually blessed us in all ways, and that includes a dramatic increase in income. I have never forgotten the corporate kindness two decades ago of what has become a global department store giant. It became our habit to add a few more decorations every year as focused on one special, more expensive piece—like a large snow globe or music box that was Nativity centered. For almost a score of years, by far and away, the lion’s share of our Christmas budget has been spent at Wal-Mart for decorations, gifts, and holiday groceries. I would say 90% would be a fair estimate. Until Christmas 2008.
I think of Christmas at Wal-Mart as bell ringers at both doors; as a large cordoned off area of the parking lot for hundreds of cut pine trees; as lots and lots of bright and shiny decorations (for sale and for the store itself); as having new as well as traditional outside hang-up/stand-up/light-up/blow-up Christmas everythings; as isles and isles of point of purchase displays with fantastic bargains on food, books, tools, movies, music, clothes, women’s things, men’s things, and TOYS! There were also things that I had always taken for granted—Nativities of all shapes, sorts, and sizes; ‘Jesus is the reason for the season’ sentiments; special displays of special purchase Christian books and Bibles for all ages; and Christian apparel for men, women, and children.
Then during the Christmas 2008 shopping season I noticed that there weren’t many Manger scenes—not for sale as crèches, as snow globes, as music boxes, as ornaments, or as jewelry. There weren’t many Christmas Story books for kids or their parents (much less Bibles, books about Christianity generally, or Jesus specifically). There weren’t many items of clothing expressing a Christian Christmas attitude—and absolutely every bit of Christian oriented clothing for men had been removed (no Christian themed ties, T-shirts, or ball caps at our local store). I noticed that there weren’t very many center isle kiosks featuring Holly-Jolly Christmas specials for much of anything. And I noticed that the Wal-Mart helpers weren’t smiling much and they were pretty cautious about offering you a, “Merry Christmas!” Quite frankly, I chalked it up to a temporary decline in socio-political confidence and economic insecurity. My wife and I had even wondered if it was due to all the problems with Chinese imports making Americans sick (or dead). I spent maybe 75% of my budget at Wal-Mart that year. I was pretty confident that Wal-Mart would be back in full swing during Christmas 2009.
I was wrong. In spite of our local store going all out for Halloween decorations, store themes, and displays of party food and drink suggestions back in October; come November, there was a dearth of preparations for the real upcoming Holiday Season (does it bother anyone else that during the past few years you can buy strings of light up skulls, bats, and pumpkins, as well as garlands of skeletons?). We thought that maybe they were waiting for the passing of “Black Friday” and then they would hit Christmas full force. It didn’t happen. The main isles remained empty of all but displays of batteries. There were essentially no store decorations. There were precious few special holiday presentations of food, or tools, or clothing, or much of anything else.
One week before Christmas Day, I made a tour of our local Wal-Mart looking for Christian themed merchandise for friends, family, and the kids who attend our church. You know what I found? Besides the normal, everyday selection of Bibles and Christian “bestsellers”, the only reading material about the Birth of Jesus were three little cardboard books for toddlers. I didn’t find a single Nativity scene of any sort anywhere in the store. Even more surprising, there was very little Christmas merchandise, period. I discovered that I could stand in a half dozen places in the building and turn a full 360 degrees and see absolutely no evidence of the Holidays. Ironically, the only Christian children’s gift-bag stuffers I could find were $1 each sparkly tree ornaments in the shape of the Cross, and some Cross embossed ‘thank you’ cards. For those, I am grateful.
And then it happened. As I was getting ready to leave the store I saw what amounted to the only display of seasonal men’s clothing: Two wracks of underwear at the top of the men’s department front and center of the store’s main isle (a prime merchandising location). The boxers were variously decorated with South Park cartoon kids wearing Santa outfits and throwing snowballs, or with ‘special’ holiday Harley-Davidson logos, or with UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) death-heads. There you have it. Christmas 2009 at Wal-Mart. The thousands of years old celebration of the miraculous birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ reduced to pairs of men’s underwear advertising a crude and blasphemous cartoon show, the favored motorcycle of the Hell’s Angels, and a television show that glorifies humanity at it’s most brutal.
I spoke to a floor manager, who quickly sensed that I was not happy and suggested I speak to the store manager. I told the store manager that I was offended by the total lack of Christian representation in his store during the second most holy day season of the Church and that I felt Wal-Mart was discriminating against Christians by it’s willingness to offer merchandise that opposes all that Christianity stands for, without offering merchandise that supports our faith. He responded by telling me that he has been a practicing Christian his whole life, there is no discrimination, and that he is subject to the dictates of Corporate and limited by his vendors. I think there might be a real future for this man in national politics. He’d fit right in.
For me, here’s the bottom line: If Wal-Mart (or any other merchandiser, for that matter) doesn’t want to celebrate the real Holy Days of Christmas with me and my family, we certainly don’t have to celebrate it with them. While we’re not planning on boycotting their stores, we are working on weaning ourselves from a 90% plus dependence on their merchandise—even if it means spending a little more per item elsewhere. This year we spent about 50% of our holiday budget at Wal-Mart. Next year, we’re planning on more like 20-25%. That’s my New Year’s resolution.
I never thought I’d get excited about a life-sized, light-up plastic nativity scene, but this year I thanked a local bank for being willing to publicly declare on their lawn, “The Reason For The Season” with just such a display. I made it a point to thank every store that I entered for at least being willing to decorate with garlands, snowmen, Santa Clause, and reindeer—even if they didn’t include depictions of the Nativity. Christmas is no longer a battle between the Christ Child and Santa Clause. We are now fighting for the existence of a special holiday season, period. We must not let the Winter Solstice people (who begin their pagan season with Halloween and end it with the spring equinox) win the hearts and minds of our youth; not to mention the shelves of our stores and the quarterly reports of our national businesses.
He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver himself, nor say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?" (Is 44:20; NASV). Like our national representatives, the governing powers that be at Wal-Mart just don’t get it. They used to, but not any more. We still have the vote and we still get to choose where we spend our money. Without Jesus there is no hope...no joy...and no peace on earth. Without Jesus, there is no Christmas. Without Jesus, there is no you and me. God bless you today, tomorrow, and throughout the New Year.