I just finished watching a Nightline segment on "What Would Jesus Buy" which is a movie that just came out & I'm very interested in seeing it now! It is of this guy who is part evangelist & part performist artists (aren't those really the same thing???) who goes around in malls etc preaching how we should buy less & that we are missing the meaning of what Christmas is really about.
It does make one think. I hear what parents spend on their children & I'm just shocked. They talked about how parents feel pressured & they are paying off their credit cards from Christmas for 6 months out of the year. I makes me wonder what children are learning?! Do you know my dad is a retired dentist (2 yrs ago) and us kids STILL only get $50 for Christmas! Now I know they spend a bit more on their 2 granddaughters but we NEVER got the equivalent amounts of today spent when we were kids. I know I have even thought, 'God, $50...do they know how much things cost today? That doesn't get much!" Which when I think about it I feel kinda bad now because it really isn't about what you spend. I mean do I need to watch the Grinch again? HA! Seriously, as this guy preaches we totally miss what Christmas is really suppose to be about. What would Jesus think about all this? It is a wonderful feeling when I give to others & I just love being surprised with gifts from others,but I think of the people struggling asking for money on Michigan Avenue as I go to PT, while I'm buying on that same street! Very odd when you think about it...oh shame on me to think! I know! But that is the point, we don't always really think about it. Am I saying, don't buy wrapping paper now, make your own cards etc. Well, perhaps but I'm not saying to go through withdrawal symptoms from going cold turkey HA! Just maybe thinking about this might help a bit. If you buy gifts for your kids would they really notice if you spent $50 less? Ok, I would...ha...but...or if you didn't get them 1 gift that one on their list what would happen? What lessons would they learn? Which also makes me think, do we learn to value ourselves, and I'm saying KIDS!...by how much our parents buy us? (Shakes head) Sad! We really need to get away from this, from our children learning that they are not loved as much or as good of a child etc because they didn't get something they wanted. Another point is teaching chidren the difference between "Want" and "Need"! I know my niece says "I NEEEEED X" and I say no "You Want X" and try to get her to explainw why she needs it & the difference.
Well, I hope this makes you think and perhaps make a small difference. Christmas should not be something we say "Oh God, I'm so glad it is all over!" You know! You might want to see the movie. The guy who did "SuperSize Me" produced this one & he raised the money to get it distributed because of course many got nervous about showing this anti-consumerism film.
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5 comments:
Every year Todd and I take £10 pounds each and go to the local charity shops and try to find some little treasures for each other at Christmas. It's quite fun actually and we are giving to charity at the same time. We support two children in Africa and we send money to them and their families each Christmas as well. It's surprising what they can get there. Last year I think they both got goats. I cannot imagine our own children being happy with a goat. I did not get alot of presents as a child and I was greatful for everything I did get. I think kids today are quite spoiled.
Jesus is the reason for the season. It's too bad so many people choose to ingore that fact. It would be quite a different world if they didn't and they did what He wanted them to do.
marie
http://journals.aol.co.uk/mariealicejoan/MariesMuses/
I will admit my kids are some of the spoiled ones. I just try to give them what I didn't have as a child. It's wrong, I know and now I have two spoiled brats! LOL
Missie
I did it when mine were little...I drove all the way to MS to get a Barbie Jeep becasue it was the MUST HAVE item one year and I stood in line and bought a Cabbage Patch Kid off a truck at 5 AM fo rMariah. It was fun and I loved it.
But we also had a kid whose house burned down spend Christmas with us one year, we served meals at shelters.
Now it is about what we do together,not what we get.
Marti
Christmas gifts and debt - I think ppl should buy what they can afford, leave the rest alone. Be kind. And leave God out of it. It's a secular holiday anyway, has nothing to do with Christ's birth, which we should celebrate daily but who'd do that, right? Did Christ have a birthday? Sure, it was in October according to historical records, everyone knows that. Why celebrate in Christmas? End of year thing? What does a mummified blinking lighted tree have to do with a divine baby's birth? Jews celebrate Christmas, if we were true Christians why don't we celebrate Hannukah? Because it's nothing to do with religion. Someone tell me what Christmas has to do with religion. Oh I'm gonna get it now. CATHY
http://journals.aol.com/luddie343/DARETOTHINK/
An interesting idea, but i don't think i would go out of my way to see it.
http://journals.aol.co.uk/acoward15/andy-the-bastard/
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