How Should We React When People Misuse Christmas

Every year, some people are extremely bothered by the various ways people don’t do Christmas “properly.” Their concerns might be the decorations used (trees, lights, ornaments), the phrases said (Happy Holidays versus Merry Christmas), the materialism and greed, the displacement of Jesus (by Santa, Frosty, etc.), the pagan roots, the Biblical concerns, or even the hubbub over public nativity scenes. In any case, these are all things that people do “wrong.” The question is: how should Christians respond to people using our Savior’s birthday party inappropriately?

Post-show Thoughts:
Always four options for anything “wrong.”
o Fight it
o Ignore it, don’t pariticpate
o Ignore it, participate
o Co-opt it, redeem it

Purpose of Christmas?
o To celebrate family
o To promote the Gospel
o To make people happy
o Celebrate the Incarnation
o Get people to church
o Make people want Christianity
o Evangelism

Benefits of secular Christmas
o Generosity
o Family
o Fun
o Food
o Relaxation
o It’s the best day of the year even for people who totally reject the core idea of what it’s all about.

Problems with angry reaction
o It’s not satisfying!
o Are you really honoring God?
o Does it demonstrate the Fruit of the Spirit?
o Does it win people toward the Gospel?
o Totalitarian impulse: My way or else!
o Sort of looks like a tantrum. Petulant children, entitlement mentality.
o Not gracious. Scroogey
o Alienates people
o Superiority/Haughtiness. We’re better than you because we do it right. Pride is not the Gospel.
o Sort of looks like the Taliban or Islamofascists. They enforce Hijabs and we enforce Merry Christmas.
o Ruins the general wonderfulness of the season. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, except for the angry Christians.
o God knows that sinners will handle good things imperfectly. Common grace shows that there’s still a benefit. Marriage still benefits non-religious people.
o Only impresses other angry people. Seems like Pharisee mentality
o Forcing fake religiosity
o Bad gift-giver, use it properly. It’s really not your gift.
o Incoherent. Can’t simultaneously lament the secularization of our culture and then force the secular to behave like Christians.

Virtues (supposedly) of angry reaction
o Anger works. But not for the righteousness of God
o Saving the public sphere for a Christianesque culture
o It IS about Jesus, how dare they taint and pollute that!