I am participating in a small group that is reading
Advent Conspiracy. We are doing this study now so that we might prepare
ourselves to celebrate Christmas as a Christian holiday. The authors of the
book note that the fastest growing religion in the world is consumerism. If
that is true, and I believe it is, then Christmas has become consumerism’s
biggest holiday.
I have often heard that we can determine what we worship
by looking at our calendars and our checkbooks. I wonder how much time those of
us who claim to follow Christ will spend preparing our hearts for the birth of
Jesus versus how much time we will spend making lists, scouring ads and shopping
from now until December 25. Our time and our money will indicate the object of
our worship.
It is no easy task to leave behind the idolatry of
consumerism. I don’t claim to be successful at it. But I recognize that what
fills my time fills my heart, and I hope to make a change in what fills my time
between now and December 25. If my heart is full of the trappings of
consumerism, then I am like the Bethlehem inn, with no room in which Jesus can
be born.
Every Advent brings the opportunity to clean out the
things that clutter my heart to make room for the birth of Jesus. As we
approach the season of Advent, it is not too early to choose well what we will
worship. I pray to choose well for myself, and to allow space for grace when I
fail to choose the One Who comes to bring life.
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