A Christmas Lament for a World Adrift
lament, n.: an expression of grief or sorrow; a formal expression of sorrow or mourning1
For many people, Christian or not, Christmas is a time to raise money for your group or cause, help people who need food or clothes or gifts, to see family and friends, and, of course, it has something to do with Jesus, although many are a little fuzzy about exactly why Christmas is about Jesus.
Some spend money they do not have to buy gifts for people they do not like. We say Christmas is not about the gifts, but we act as if it is. If we don’t give gifts, we feel guilty and are afraid people will think we are mean, cold, or distant relatives of Scrooge. Christmas is a convenient time to show appreciation, something that we usually don’t do enough. However, are you giving gifts for that reason? Or are you giving because people expect it and you don’t want them to think you’re a moron?
For a few weeks, people focus on Thanksgiving & Christmas. People give thanks to some vague something for the same somethings every year. No sooner is the turkey swallowed & before the football games are over people scramble & claw their way to buy the Black Friday specials (which actually start on Thursday) so they can fill their homes & storage units with more stuff for the purpose of … Well, they’re not sure what the purpose is.
People put on a degree of spirituality and piousness for a brief time, then plan their New Year’s party to indulge in beer, wine, hard liquor as they celebrate something they’re not sure of. Many begin the new year doing the same thing they have been doing for years because they don’t know what else to do. A few actually think about their life during these last few weeks of the year and become depressed when they realize how meaningless it all is. Holiday movies focus on love – and many realize they don’t have much of that.
Let me give you some facts about modern Christmas:
- Christmas is the biggest economic event in many countries
- In 2013, Christmas produced $3 trill in sales & personal income in the United States. Businesses hired 768,000 people hired just for the Christmas season.
- Three states with the highest sales of artificial Christmas trees are Tennessee, Florida, and West Virginia. 2/3 homes have artificial tree, 1 out of 5 have a real tree, and the rest do not have any Christmas tree. If you have an artificial tree, you are more likely to have another one
In 2014, 73% believed in the Virgin Birth. In 2017, it was 66%. In 2014, 81% believed Jesus slept in a manger. It was 75% in 2017. In 2014, 65% believed in the wise men, gifts, the star, and the shepherds. In 2017, down to 57%. 19% of Americans do not believe any of the Christmas events happened. One reason fewer people believe the facts about the birth of Christ is that younger Americans do not believe the Bible. Surveys of what people believe are often broken down into age categories. Almost without exception, younger Americans are less likely to believe and accept traditional, Biblical morality.
Now, in light of all this, consider that in 2017 2.8 million people died in America, 70,000 more than 2016. 47,000 people committed suicide in 2017, the highest in 50 years. Over 70,000 people died from drug overdose. More young adults are receiving hormone treatment and surgery to become the opposite gender. Yet, an article in New York Times reveals that many admit none of that makes them happy. One out of 5fivemen in their 20s – 40s do not work. Almost 1/2 of people under 38 believe the United States Is racist. Almost 1/2 believe socialism is better than capitalism, even though they admit they do not know what socialism is. 84% of Americans do not know the specific rights listed in the First Amendment, and 44% of people under 38 believe President Obama had a bigger impact on the country than George Washington.
We live in a country of unspoken but not so subtle rules about what you can say and who can say it. If you use certain racial words, you will be quickly condemned and lose your job. Yet you can use any filthy word or sexually suggestive word you like and receive praise for your “edgy” tone. All religious beliefs are valid and respected, except for believing the Bible. Any form of immorality and perversion is acceptable, even promoted, and you better not say any of it is wrong.
Truth has not only fallen in the street, the world is trampling and stampeding it to death. Yet the same people who promote all this confusion have the audacity to sing so sweetly about Jesus at Christmas. We truly live in a time when it should be crystal clear to every Christian that the gospel, the Bible, is the only answer to what we see happening around us.
Our government spends billions of dollars giving people the money to buy food, housing, and clothes. As a result, we have created millions of government dependent consumers who do not have any real purpose except to eat, sleep, make babies, watch TV, and talk on Facebook. This is the country we have become this Christmas. Christmas today is about getting more and more, and giving to others so they have more and more And the whole time, people are not happy.
The Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons mask the reality that behind the smiles, the gifts, the lights, and the familiar songs we are now living in a different and dangerous country. Christmas today has very little to do with the Biblical truth about Christ. The songs we sing teach truths that many people don’t believe any more. For example, stanza two of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” refers to Satan’s tyranny and the depths of hell. “Joy To The World” urges the earth to “receive her King” who will “make His blessings flow far as the curse is found”. “Hark, The Herald Angels Sing” refers to Jesus as King, Lord, and Prince. “The First Noel” states “with His blood mankind hath bought”. The song “Who Is He In Yonder Stall?” asks a relevant question that many give little or no serious thought, though they sing the song.
We are drifting into unbelief. It is not only the wider culture but also, to some extent, Bible-believing churches, which are supposed to be salt and light to the unbelief, are also drifting theologically and morally. I suspect that many Christians are becoming tired and frustrated with what we see happening around us and in our churches. We mourn over this, and we wonder what to do.
There is an answer, and the answer is always the same: We need to get on our knees before God asking for His mercy and intervention; and we need to continue to give the gospel because we love the people for whom Christ was born and for whom he died.
Wally Morris is pastor of Charity Baptist Church in Huntington, IN. The church blogsite is amomentofcharity.blogspot.com. He has also published A Time To Die: A Biblical Look At End-Of-Life Issues by Ambassador International.
- source: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/lament, which goes on to say “especially in verse or song…” This piece isn’t in verse or song, but it is an expression of sorrow. [↩]