Christmas & Consumer Culture

As a Christian man, the Christmas season is one of my favorite times of the year. How I love to meditate on the coming of Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God, into the world! It is no exaggeration to say that, taken together with the rest of his life, the incarnation of Jesus Christ is the center point of human history. It is a vast and deep ocean of life that ought to be explored and delighted in by everything that has breath.

But as an American Christian man, I must admit that I have mixed feelings about the Christmas season. Historically speaking, I’m unclear as to how this transpired, but somehow American consumer culture has co-opted this glorious season and has so captured our attention that it has nearly eclipsed the unspeakable wonder of the fact that, in Jesus Christ, God became a man. In large part, our enemy has succeeded in diverting our affections from the most glorious event in all of history to the shifting shadows of earthly pleasures and possessions.

Here are a few facts to help make my case: Did you know that about 25% of retail sales are made between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Did you know that the average American family will spend just under $1,000 on gifts this Christmas season? Did you know that the Standard & Poor’s Research Group—one of the oldest and most important forecasting companies in the world—refers to Christmas as “the biggest spending holiday”?

The most glorious event in all of history reduced to “the biggest spending holiday”—how I pray that this breaks your heart as it does mine, for it is, in a word, idolatry—and that of the highest order.

Brothers & sisters, I implore you to search your hearts and minds this Christmas season and join our family in ridding yourselves of idolatry. I’m not saying we shouldn’t buy gifts for one another, I’m simply saying that we ought to keep all things in their proper place. I’m saying that Christ ought to reign supreme in our hearts and habits so that the whole world sees and takes notice that we actually believe Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Praying for eyes to see the wonder of Christ,
Pastor Charlie