Rethinking the War on Christmas

All right, yeah, that's a little bit gratuitous, but that's our Christmas Wars update. The story that I'm going to be using to help kind of intro this topic comes to us via the Christian Post, an article written by Alex Miroshko of the Christian Post entitled, Judge Rules Nativity Scene No Longer Allowed in Los Angeles Beach City Park.

Of course, this is the standard fare this time of the year, but let me read. The nearly 60 year old tradition of a nativity scene displayed at a park and hosted by a coalition of churches in Santa Monica, California, has ended after a federal judge ruled on Monday that the city can ban such displays.

A controversy over the display about the birth of Jesus at Palisades Park erupted last Christmas season when an atheist group manipulated the city's lottery system for spaces, according to a nonprofit, resulting in only two booths for the Christian group that normally uses 14 for the various nativity related scenes.

Quote,. It's a very sad day when a small number of people with an axe to grind, people who do not like Christianity and who do not like God, are able to prevail by manipulating rules to censor our message from the public place where it has been displayed for the enjoyment of millions of people for nearly 60 years.

Hunter Jameson, head of the nonprofit Santa Monica Nativity Scene Committee, told the Christian Post Monday. Now, I'm not going to read the rest of the article. Folks, this is like a template, OK? You know what a template is, right?

I mean, if any of you have Microsoft Word, I don't particularly care for Microsoft Word. I use Pages because I'm an Apple Macintosh guy. But from time to time, I have to use Word because, you know, some of the papers I have to submit, they can't be submitted in Pages.

Anyway, so so here's the idea. Are you ready? OK, you open up Microsoft Word. And, you know, back in the day, there was this little paperclip guy and and you'd start typing and you'd say, it looks like you're trying to write a letter or a newsletter or you're and he would give you a template to work from.

Right. This template is not changed in the last 30 years. And I should know because I'm way older than 30 years old. OK, and this is what happens every single year. And sometimes the good guys win and they get their nativity scene and and the ACLU, the bad guys, they have to leave with their tails between their legs.

But they always point their fingers and say, I'll be back next year. You know, and and this is the drama that goes out, OK? Folks, can I just make a obvious point here, and that is, is that it's not the job of your city to preach the gospel.

It's you and your church's job to preach the gospel. Now, I know it's an inconvenience if you can't have your nativity scene in a high traffic area. But just something to point out here is that in a nativity scene, we see so many of them every Christmas that I think that's a pretty ineffective way of preaching the gospel.

Remember, it's your job, not your city's job, to preach the gospel. And when we act all shocked and and getting a kerfuffle over the fact that pagans don't like the idea of public government property being used to propagate Christianity.

My my response is, well, duh, they're born dead in trespasses and sins. They're at war with God. They it's not that they want to peacefully coexist with the one true God. They hate him. OK, so here here's the let's kind of reel this in and get back to some priorities.

Are you are you ready? OK, now priority number one. OK, it's your job as a Christian to preach the gospel, not just at Christmastime, but at other times. And it's the job of your church to preach the gospel, not just at Christmastime, but every time of the year as well.

And so during Christmas season, if your church wants to put a nativity scene up, you know where they can do it right there on church property. It's true. And did you know that the ACLU can't make them take it down because that's their that's your property.

Now, if that's your thing, go right ahead. This perfectly legit thing. And you know what? Everybody who drives by your church every day will see your nativity scene. OK, but even then, that doesn't preach the gospel.

All they're going to see are a bunch of barnyard animals and some very pious looking people kneeling in front of a manger. That's all they're going to see. Now, that might recall to mind if they've heard the story what that's all about.

But see, just because there's kneeling pieces of wood, you know, with a manger scene doesn't mean that they're going to go, hey, wait a second. That's God in human flesh. That's the savior of the world.

I need to repent and believe in him. Right now, let me get some more advice here. OK, when you go to Wal-Mart, OK, just keep this in mind. I don't know how to break it to you, but Wal-Mart is not the church.

I know it's bummer, right? OK, so Wal-Mart is not actually a Christian corporation either. In fact, I'm not sure that there is such a thing personally. But OK, so Wal-Mart isn't a Christian organization, OK, or, you know, Target.

Pick your store, Nordstrom's or Macy's or Lowe's. Just name the company. I don't know where you do your Christmas shopping, but they're not the church. They're not a Christian organization. So it's not their job.

Get this. It's not their job to say to you, Merry Christmas. It's your job to wish them a Merry Christmas. You see? Because you're a Christian. And they probably, you know, the teenager at the checkout counter probably isn't.

So it's not their job. So don't get all bent out of shape if you, you know, from a particular day in November through to the end of the Christmas season, if somebody at your local hardware store or grocery store or Wal-Mart or Target or mall doesn't wish you a Merry Christmas, it's your job to wish them a Merry Christmas and share the gospel with them if you can.

You get what I'm saying? Now, one other point regarding this, okay? And that's this, okay? Rather than getting bent out of shape about the fact that, you know, the 16-year-old kid at the checkout counter at Target didn't say Merry Christmas to you and, you know, and then get all mad and upset, they're taking Christ out of Christmas and stuff like that.

That's what the world wants to do. They don't want Christ in Christmas. So that being the case, you need to focus on the bigger offense. And what I mean by that is this, okay? It is far more offensive that there are Christian churches and seeker-driven megachurches who've taken Christ out of Christianity.

If you're going to get all bent out of shape, may I recommend taking your anger and wrath and ire over the fact that you were not properly given the right Christmas greeting at Walmart and channel that energy and anger at your local megachurch where they've taken Christ out of Christianity, okay?

In fact, if you're attending a local megachurch that's taken Christ out of Christianity and your pastor's being featured here with negative sermon reviews on a regular basis, just want to make it clear, you've lost the right to complain about the Christmas wars, okay?

Yet at this point, your pastor is actually guilty of a bigger crime. And so until you get rid of him or switch churches, sorry, you're out of this discussion altogether, you've lost the right to participate as far as I'm concerned.

So what it boils down to is this, all right? This is a template. This goes on every single year. It'll happen this year. It'll happen next year. It'll happen the year after that. It'll happen 10 years from now, should Christ tarry.

It'll happen 20 years from now, should Christ tarry. And who cares? Okay? It's not the job of Walmart to preach the gospel. It's yours. It's not the job of Walmart to greet people and wish them a Merry Christmas.

As a Christian, it is your responsibility. So let's get our priorities straight and let's get back on task and get back to the mission that Christ has sent us on to disciple the nations to proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins and Jesus name.

And Christmas time is a legitimate, great time to share that good news, but make sure that you and your church are doing it and don't make it Walmart's responsibility or your local city council. Don't make it their responsibility.

It's yours.