Friday, December 23, 2011

Peace on Earth?

Being a dyed in the wool idealist, I've had to wrestle with Christmas the last few years.  For writing a blog about simplicity I sure can make things complicated.  There are basically two sides of the Christmas coin that I've been focused one. 

Ideology One
Christmas is a an American tradition rooted in Christianity.

Ideology Two
Christmas is a pagan celebration and we ought to steer clear of it.

Some of my readers may not realize that both of those sides exist, but they do.  There are many other facets, of course, and I'm over simplifying for the sake of blogging.  My focus in this post is to look at this year and my peace with Christmas.

If I've learned anything over the past 2 years I've learned to rethink those ideologies I try so desperately to attach myself to.  I'm learning to read the Bible from the perspective of those who experienced it first hand.  I read a great blog post (click here for installment 1, installment 2, and installment 3).  It really highlighted the uncertainty of Joseph and Mary.  Here is Joseph, a seemingly kind and devoted man, who hears that his wife is pregnant.  She also tells him that the Child is a result of the immaculate conception.  It is God's Son.  Joseph's response?  He decides to put her away (hide her and end the betrothal) quietly.  I'm not sure if he really believed her or not. 

Or take David.  War hero.  Chosen of God.  Adulterer.  Failed parent.  I can't imagine that at the end of his life he was taking stock and saying "Obviously I will be known as a man after God's own heart."  He may have been just a tad bewildered as to how his life got so messed up.

And so it is today that I look over my life and question a lot of the decisions I've made over the years.  I wonder if I can really be "on track" with God.  He knows what I've done.  He knows who I am inside.  Even when I uphold the rules of christianity that I learned as a child (read your Bible, pray, don't drink, don't smoke) it is merely a veil to hide who I am on the inside.  Knowing that, can God really even find me acceptable in His sight?

Then I remember the birth of His Son.  Born to a doubting earthly father.  Brought into a world of utter darkness.  He lived among us.  He became one of us.  He did all of that so He could call me His brother.  It is then, and only then, that I realize that there is a whole bunch of grace that He has poured on me.  And that's the real story behind Christmas.

You already know it's not about the presents.  You already know it's not about the tree and Santa, cookies and egg nog.  It's not even really about family.  It's about Him and His birth.  It's about our relationship with Him and how that affects our relationship with others.

So with that said, I've made peace with Christmas.  I have good friends who don't celebrate the holiday, but they celebrate Jesus.  I have family who go all out for Christmas (think about the Griswolds), but they celebrate Jesus.  I can stand with both sets of people and respect them for the decisions they make and celebrate, with them, the birth of Christ.  I guess I've simply come to the place where it doesn't seem to matter how you "celebrate" the holiday.  It only matters that you celebrate Jesus.

As for me and my family, we have a tree in our house.  We play Christmas carols and sing loudly (especially at "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer"...all 7 of us).  We don't have Santa stuff in our home and we don't go to see Santa.  Right now, as I type this, we are eagerly awaiting the unwrapping of gifts, visits to Grandmas house (before she gets run over), and more food than some third world countries see in a year.  And I'm happy.  I'm looking forward to celebrating Jesus,  my Brother, with my brothers and sisters.  I assume they've made their peace with Christmas.

What's your relationship with God like?  Now's a good time to talk with Him about it.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Of Texas and Texans

Recent travels have brought me into frequent contact with Texas and Texans. I've always loved the mystique surrounding the Lone Star State. As a boy I watched Westerns religiously and still do today. I've read the history of the Westward expansion and studied the history of raising cattle in America. Texas, of course, plays a significant role in all of those topics. But it is only recently that I have had so much exposure to the real Texas.

I've got to say...I'm impressed.

I like living in Michigan. Don't mis-understand. I like the weather (most of the time) and I love the lush woodlands, the marshes, and the Great Lakes. What strikes me about Texas, though, is the attitude. 

I was recently talking to some business associates. I made the suggestion that perhaps we utilize some government resources available to us. The room got quiet and the group squirmed in their seats. Finally someone tactfully spoke up and said "Well, I know what the owner of our company will say. He'll say 'I'll close this shop permanently before I'll let the government run my business.'"

I laughed heartily at that.

I think that very statement encapsulates what endears me to the people of Texas. How much better off we would be if the people of the United States thought (to use JFK's popular phrase) not of what their country could do for them, but of what they could do for their country. And how satisfying to think of a government that empowered its people to lead and not pay politicians to live a life of extravagance. Unfortunately our country is in a state of decline. I believe much of that decline is a direct result of a lack of accountability. It has become our expectation that someone else is responsible for taking care of us. Yet deep in the heart of Texas I find much of the opposite viewpoint.

Take their gun laws for instance.  The laws are much less restrictive than what we have in Michigan. In an informal poll I've been taking I have found that at least 75% of those I spoke to carry a fire arm. 75%!  Each one believed that it was not only his or her right to bear arms, it was their responsibility. In the minds of those I talked to it is their responsibility to care for themselves and those they love. I have watched videos shot in other states where the elderly were brutally beaten, by standers gawking at the scene, and not a hand raised to help the victim. I somehow cannot see that scene unfolding in a state where most folks carry firearms and aren't afraid to use them.

Our forefathers sought to create a county that was united in the Independence of their respective states.  Although in no way anarchists, they sought to limit the strength and over-arching dominance of a national government.  Sadly, today we beg for the intervention of the Federal Government.  If only we had listened to those who have gone before us.  Instead we have recreated the intrusive government entity that they fled from so many years to go.  Selfishly I look around and feel hemmed in.  Unlike the founding fathers I don't know where else to go.  Is there any undiscovered habitat in the world?    I'm fiercely proud of our American heritage and I am profoundly disappointed in what we are fast becoming. My heritage is comprised of European immigrants and Native Americans.  The need for freedom somehow flows in my blood.  The continued growth and dominance of a central government strikes fear in my heart.  Yet there is a glimmer of hope.  Texas has talked of seceding the union.  Hmmmm...there's something to think about.

Really, from the Austin music scene, the Dallas oil refineries, to the cattle ranches that dot the Texas landscape, the state has made a name for itself as being an example of "State's Rights" in the 21st century.  Heck, if they do end up seceding from the union, they may find the population grow by one family.

Oh, and by the way, did I mention that Chuck Norris lives somewhere near Houston?