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To All my friends,
I'm on a
"Merry Christmas"
mission and I'm in full throttle. My little yellow VW Beetle
has turned into a
Christmas
billboard with Merry Christmas
written across the back window. Yes, I've decided to trek
off to work everyday on the public highways with a message
that seems to offend people.
At stop lights, I even turn my music up a little louder, and
to top it off, I sing along with it. Don't I know that
stopping at a red light to roll my windows down only to
share the joy of Christmas
carols on public streets is a No-No? Don't I fear the
Christmas Gestapo and
those who would have me remove the written message from my
car?
I'm sorry folks, but the only person I'm concerned about
"offending" during this
Christmas
season is the Lord himself. LEAVE THAT MANGER ALONE! We've
allowed the
Baby Jesus to be kicked out of His lowly manger,
and those offended by
Christmas are still not happy.
I refuse to let thi s happen. I'm going to do my part to
make sure "Merry
Christmas" doesn't become extinct. Because like
it or not, if the believers in
Christmas don't take a stand now, it's
gone forever.
Listen folks, the Christian community has been
underestimated before; we will have to show ourselves
again.
I walked into a Wendy's Restaurant the other day and was
rather exuberant with my
"Merry Christmas" greeting to the manager. He
didn't have much of a response and I said, "Where's your
Christmas spirit?" He said, "We're not allowed
to use the words "Merry
Christmas" when greeting customers. We can only
say "Happy Holiday."
This morning I grabbed a quick breakfast at a Whataburger
Restaurant. I noticed there wasn't a single decoration in
the store. I asked the manager why they weren't decorated
for Christmas. He told me
the corporate headquarters decided not to send any
decorations to any of their stores, and he didn't know why.
After I heard about all the Macy's and Federated Stores
taking down their
Merry Christmas signs, the Target stores not
allowing the Salvation Army to "Ring the
Christmas bells," and the
many incidents of children, choirs, and bands not allowed to
play or sing
Christmas carols, I realized it was happening
right here in my own little Texas town.
How can this be? Not Texas!
We do, however, have a store, Hobby Lobby, that plays
nothing but!
Christmas carols during the season. On
Christmas Day they run a full page ad in our
local newspaper. That ad is not to promote the store, but
use s the entire page to tell the story of
Jesus' birth. Now that's taking a stand. We need
to thank them.
When I saw a news report the other evening of children being
taught new words to a song we've sung for years - "We Wish
You a
Merry Christmas" - I was saddened to hear "We
Wish You a Splendid Holiday."
I know now that it's just a matter of time that the
"Merry Christmas" greetings will be gone. Look
around your town. Notice the
"Holiday" greetings and not
"Christmas." It's happening right before our
very eyes.
Start singing the songs; go down the streets of America
singing to your heart's content. Get some of those wash-off
markers that these kids use to write on their car windows
when they're rooting for their hometown football team. It's
easy to do, and if a tor rential rain washes it off, write
it on there again.
We've got to get this message out. "Go Tell It On the
Mountain . . that
Jesus Christ is Born." Sing it, speak it, be a
billboard for our Lord.
The story of this
"Baby Jesus" alone has brought about more
goodwill at this time of year than any other day we
celebrate. How can we sit back and allow Him to be snuffed
out of our lives?
Is it
Jesus, or is it His followers that the
"offended" don't like? What kind of revulsion galvanizes one
to campaign so vehemently against the mere mention of His
name, the mere singing of a carol, or the mere visual of a
sign that says
"Merry Christmas?"
I can listen to my o! wn boss at work use some of the vilest
words and follow up with, "Excuse my French." I may cringe
inside at his damning of God's name, but I tolerate it. So
if y ou don't like me wishing you a
"Merry Christmas," I'll say, "Excuse my joy."
You may cringe that
I
celebrate the birth of Jesus, but just tolerate
it.
I cannot be concerned that
"Merry Christmas" offends you. If I'm not
careful, the day will come when saying I'm a Christian will
offend you.
I'm offended that you're offended. How about that?
When we get to a point that we can no longer take part in a
tradition we hold dear, we have no choice; we either defend
that tradition or we give it up to those who say NO. That's
it . . . period. So, which will it be?
I'm not giving up my "Merry
Christmas" joy to anyone. If I know of someone
that celebrates another holiday during this time of year, I
will be glad to wish them whatever holiday they want. Just
tell me what it is and I'll shout it to the world and wish
you a grand celebration.
Just give me
Christmas. To you merchants: Stop being so
hypocritical and "filling your tills" on the back of
Jesus! Who do you think is the symbol of giving
at this time of year? It was the wise men bringing gifts
to the newborn Christ-child.
You want your coffers full, but have ordered your employees
to take down all the
Merry Christmas signs. If that's the case, I'll
buy gifts at a place that understands my joy.
If you're worried about offending someone, you just did. The
most recent Newsweek survey shows that 82% of Americans
believe that
Jesus is the Son of God. So, in trying not to
offend a few, you've offended many.
It's okay to jump into the
"Merry Christmas"
spirit when it fills your cash reg ister, but let's call it
something else . . . and don't stop giving . . and don't
stop buying. . . we'll just change the name and you'll never
know the difference.
I know the difference and I'm feeling it greatly. It's hard
not to be aware that townships across our country have
actually banned the singing of Christmas carols because it
might offend someone. And it's not just the religious songs;
it's the secular ones too. No more "Jingle Bells" or
"Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" because they're associated
with
Christmas. Boy, aren't we getting sensitive?
If we're not celebrating
Christmas
for the hope it gives with the birth of
our Savior . . . there is no hope!
I noticed a few years ago that we changed the name of
Abraham Lincoln's and George Washington's birthday so as to
be all inclusive regarding the Presidents. Hark, if we
should recognize anyone as exceptional. Now it 's called
Presidents' Day.
Well, if we're going to be so all inclusive, next month I'll
have to refer to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as Civil
Rights Leaders' Day. We don't want to exclude great
Americans like Rosa Parks or Cesar Chavez, do we? And to
think that Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton might be left out.
We might need to change Mother's Day, Father's Day, and
Grandparents' Day to All Parents' Day. Just lump them all
together.
It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? So what's the difference?
My freedom to celebrate
Christmas
in the tradition of the Christian religion is as
much my right as it is your right to be offended by it. So
what are we going to do? Did anyone hear me . . . what are
we going to do?
Do we defend a person's right to go forward with a time
tested tradition (how about 2000 years?), or do we defend a
person's right to end it all because they're offended? As
long as! we live in this great land and have the freedom to
express ourselves and what we believe in, we will always
offend someone.
If we try to make everything right for everyone, we won't
have anything for anyone.
May you always have
Christmas
in your heart! Keep
Christ
in
Christmas. |
