On Wednesday I was contacted by a reporter from the Independent, a small local newspaper with a circulation throughout the East Mountains and Estancia Valley. He asked me if I would provide the paper with a short pastoral perspective on the holidays and the new year by 1 pm that same day. I was on my way out the door and wasn't sure I could accommodate him, especially in just a couple hours but in the interest of trying to make much of Christ I agreed.
I banged out a short piece and emailed it to the Independent. Here is what I sent.
Christmas is over, the tree has dried up, the presents are stacked up, the trashcan is filled up, the credit card has been wracked up and we’re, well some of us are just plain fed up. Fed up with another Christmas that didn’t deliver what we thought or at least hoped it would deliver. Oh, it delivered a fast burn that brought excitement into our lives until the batteries wore out, but Christmas and all the trimmings turned into a slow fade, which has left some of us just as disappointed, discontented, disillusioned, and dissatisfied with our lives as we were before we went deeper into debt trying to buy another years worth of happiness and holiday cheer.
But, you know what, maybe the real problem isn’t Christmas’ failure to deliver as much as we are far too easily pleased. You see, our willingness to settle for artificial trees, plastic toys, paper plates, and disposable Christmas lights is very much indicative of the root problem we all struggle with—that of filling our lives with the throw-away-stuff of life so that we have no room left for what the Lord of life promises, which is life itself in Christ Jesus, the real reason for Christmas. Quite simply, we are so happy filling our lives with the transient things of life—we have missed the point of life, which is enjoying a personal relationship with our Creator through Christ Jesus His Son.
May 2009 be a year in which we aren’t so easily pleased!
And here is what the Independent printed:
Christmas is over, the tree has dried up, the presents are stacked up, the trashcan is filled up, the credit card has been wracked up and we’re, well some of us are just plain fed up. Let's fill ourselves with the real reason for Christmas this year!
Needless to say, they butchered what I wrote and really misrepresented the whole intent of it. I posted this here so that those of you who read the Independent will see what I actually wrote as opposed to what the Independent chose to print. I guess the freedom of the press applies only to the press when it comes to talking about Jesus.
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