Christmas the Giving Season

I love Christmas. It's tough not to. People are rushing around a lot more and it is too commercial for sure, has been for a while, but it is a great time. The lights, great decorations, cooler weather (at least in the northern hemisphere) and a giving spirit. That last one is the real reason right? Giving? God gave us Jesus, and that is the greatest gift all, coupled with Jesus' sacrifice to gift us with grace.

So we give at this time of year especially to honor that memory, that lesson. I at this time of year think more of how I can give, and I am assuming that is how most people think through this season. And when I do, I feel good, I feel pride in it. Do we feel it too much though?

I found myself wishing, this year in particular, that I had more to give. But then something struck me. Why? After all it's not mine to begin with. What does it matter how much I have to give? It's not mine anyways. Would I really feel better if I gave $1 jagillion if I had $10 jagillion? I don't know if you have noticed, but if you live here in Florida where I do, that the Lottery is up to $60 million or so. I wondered what I would do if I won that. Well I would give generously with it for sure, right? Right! Especially considering I would need an act of God to win it. But haven't I been given everything I have already? I believe so.

So where does the pride in giving come from if it has all been given in the first place?

Be generous, because we are generous recipients, every one.

Merry Christmas!

The Fastest 3 Months of the Year

...happen to follow the former fastest 3 months of the year which are now the slowest. Let me explain.

When I was a kid, summer's were the best, beach, mountains, Disney vacations, laying around watching TV... and then BOOM! School is starting again! It sucked....

Now I am all grown up, and summers are like any other time, in fact living in Florida, they might be the slowest, as they are the hottest and most uncomfortable days of the year, and we can't wait to get to fall. Why? Cooler weather? Maybe a little bit. The real reason? College Football. And now it is over again, except for the Bowl Season which does give some good games (including the BCSCG this year w/ my beloved Gators!), but not with the normal pageantry and excitement of the regular season and its rivalries.

So, BOOM! It's over once again, and it really does suck.

Entitlement

Is entitlement ever good? What role has it played in our present? These are a couple of the questions that are flowing through my head right now.

I think we here in the US have gone through roughly 60 years of unprecendented growth and prosperity. There have been downturns for sure, but looking at the whole, it has been phenomenal. I don't think I am different than most people in that when things go well for me for a period of time, I tend to relax. I am thankful for sure, but I relax, I get in a mindset that this is the way it is and going to be. A sense of entitlement. I act and do a little differently as time passes. It is not really a conscious decision on my part but it just turns out that way.

Now is that possible for a nation? A people as a whole? I think so. The overriding belief as we go through a tough time for our economy and nation is disbelief. "But this is what my life is like." "This is what I make." " This is how my job/industry works..." It's kind of like the frog in the pot of water that slowly turns to a boil and stays in.

Have we not seen this through history? The Roman Empire, The French/Russian/Spanish (etc) Monarchies. Through the church? I mean the King James Bible is after all the only real and true version of the Bible. Hymns from the 15/1600's are the only songs to sing in a church service. Right? Right...

So then what to do!?!? Should we not challenge our assumptions, what we are "entitled" to? This is a hard thing, in fact I don't think we know all of the assumptions we have made about our lives. Where do we start? Our jobs/professions, our possessions, our time. Are these things even "ours"? I think I am only scratching the surface, but I believe it a worthy exercise. One that will result in the right kind of change. In fact I think it will be freeing, because unlike the frog in the pot, we can escape being cooked.