I enjoy Christmas. I like to listen to Christmas songs. I watch my share of Christmas movies. I get out to enjoy the Christmas markets. And I’m sitting by my Christmas tree as I write this. But I think I know why it makes so many people miserable. To see why, you may not have to look any further than your Christmas playlist. Consider the Christmas message of this year’s most popular Christmas songs. What you’ll see is that what started off as a holiday to celebrate a religion became a holiday celebrated as a religion. Let me explain.
It’s an unusual week for me when I write letters to our mayor, city councillor and member of parliament. But last week was one of those weeks. I wanted to share with them a recent study on the economic impact of churches on their communities. It’s an important issue because more and more secular people are of the mind that it’s a drain on the economy for the government to provide tax exemptions to religious institutions. The research shows that the opposite is, in fact, true. Even if you never intend to attend a church, you benefit from the economic impact that the church has in your city. Let me explain.
If you’re a parent, you’ll likely spend a good portion of your time on this earth thinking about, caring for, and spending money on your children. They are inevitably the single biggest investment you’ll make in life. How much time have you given to thinking about what you’re actually trying to do for your children? Is your end goal that they’d like you? That they become financially successful? That they be independent? That they be kind, strong, or environmentally conscious? That they be religious? The work of parenting can be so all-consuming that we lose sight of what we’re aiming for. The crises of parenting can be so overwhelming that we forget what we’re trying to accomplish. Opportunities are lost as a result. And later we can regret them. Let me share what I feel is an inadequate end goal that we often settle for and two alternatives I believe God calls us to.
