A Dangerous Christmas
People might dream of a white Christmas, sing of a silent Christmas, but no one wishes for a dangerous Christmas.
Christmas can be dangerous! A friend, cutting down a small pine tree slipped with the chainsaw he was using and it cut seriously into his leg. A lady I know, putting up decorations had the chair she was standing on tip up, and she badly broke her hip and spent Christmas in hospital. A child from one of our church families was pulling off a stopper from a blow-up toy when, it suddenly came loose in his mouth and, inhaling it, it lodged in his windpipe. Then there are the car crashes with fatalities to holiday makers, fight injuries after Christmas parties, and the tragedies in the surf on a sunny day.
Christmas is not without problems and dangers. Everything starts to run a little wild. For all sorts of reasons discipline goes out the window and people make extravagant and expensive purchases. Christians are not immune to all this, but I think we need to be especially alert to the dangers, and think through a strategy that allows us to combat just a few of these dangers.
There is the doctrinal danger — substituting the temporal for the eternal. A couple of Scriptures give some help here. Colossians 3:1–2, Romans 12:2. It is important that we understand exactly what we’re celebrating. It is our Saviour’s arrival, not Santa’s. The significance of giving presents is to be directly related to God’s presenting us the Gift of His Son. There is the personal danger — of trying to impress people and not imparting to them the real message of Christmas. We represent the King. We are His chosen ambassadors, doing His business ‘in season and out of season’. So let’s try to do it this season!
There is of course economic danger — spending more than we have. Before every purchase, think: is this within my budget? Is it appropriate? Is it really saying what I want it to say? There is a psychological danger too — getting built up for a letdown. One of the most effective maneuvers of the world system is to create a false sense of excitement. The Christian can get ‘high’ very easily on the crest of Christmas, and the afterglow can be a depressing experience. If we stay occupied with the Person of Jesus Christ we’ll seldom have to fight off all these dangers of the Season.
On a personal note, I thank all of our CDP members, friends, donors, election workers, our thousands of readers of Christian Voice in Politics in countries all over the world, and our staff — all those who help us in any way, for the magnificent way in which you have joined with us in our public ministry of legislation and proclamation by both word and deed. Beverley and I thank God for you every night in our prayers together. May you have God’s richest blessing this Christmas, avoiding all those dangers, and resting up for another year together in God’s work of legislation and proclamation by both word and deed.
Rev The Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes, A.C., M.L.C.