Ba Humbug

My pastor had an awesome sermon on Sunday about how Christians have become overrun by materialism and greed especially at Christmastime. I couldn't agree more, and unfortunately I think we all (myself included) fall captive to these sorts of sentiments in our American celebration of the holiday season. We have let consumerism rob us of the joy of Christmas. Take for example the plastic pony commercial.


A girl gets a real pony as a child. Her friend gets a plastic pony. The friend gets jealous when she sees the other girl's real pony. What good is a plastic pony when your friend has a real one? 20 years later the spoiled girl gets a Lexus in her driveway. Those same old feelings of superiority gush back in.

What a moral. Treat yourself to the best. Outshine your friends. What has happened to us? Where have our relationships gone? As my pastor said, contentment is elusive--a present tense concept. We need to find it, keep it, and garner it. If there is anybody who should be content, it should be us.