Matthew 2:12-14, “And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and His mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy Him. When he arose, he took the young child and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt:”
Christmas should be celebrated. That is a no-brainer, really, but we should be strategic in how we celebrate the incarnation of God the Son. First, honestly (that means biblically) celebrate Christmas. That will enable step #2, separating fact from fiction. The third leg in a solid Christmas celebration strategy is to think through the details, and there are a ton that attend to this holiday.
While many have said that “the devil is in the details” we may be certain that God is, and we should be, especially as we devise a Christmas strategy. We have to think about the details concerning gifts. I love exchanging gifts at Christmas. Buying someone an anniversary or birthday gift is nice, just as a house-warming, new-baby, or retirement gifts are fun, but those all pale in comparison to Christmas gifts. I enjoy Christmas shopping. I like to wrap gifts, place them under a tree, and watch them be opened. That is a wonderful tradition, and I believe that it is so enjoyable to exchange gifts at Christmas because of how much we have been given. That does not mean that a neck-tie, a book, or a gift card are comparable to God’s gift of Christ, but it does make me want to be giving; hopefully not just on the 25th of December.
While it is certainly not sacrilegious to exchange gifts at Christmas. It is definitely immoral to be greedy, even if one is “greedy” on others’ behalf. Before we buy our first gift, we should plan out how much we should spend. Notice I wrote “should” and not “want.” We may be able to afford spending as much as we want, but that may be more than we should. Christmas is not like winning the lottery, so plan and shop accordingly.
How much should we spend, and on what should we spend it? How much time should we devote to concerts, cantatas, plays, and parties? How far should we travel, if at all? If we do not think through the details, then we will drown in them.