The Herod Syndrome is still around. There is a national movement to eliminate “Christmas” from this holiday season. Most public organizations use “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas.” I noticed that in Sunday’s World Herald, either intentional or not, they misspelled Christmas! Not in an obscure tiny fine print article, but in a half inch high headline. It was “Chrismas.” I wondered if leaving out the “T” could have been symbolic of leaving out the cross of Christ, which is truly the major reason for the celebration of the birth of the savior. It was what he accomplished for us on the cross, that demands our greatest praise and celebration.
Sometimes I am afraid for our nation. If we become a nation that attempts to leave God out our fate will be similar to that of the old Communist Russia. Touring American editors found a time warp in Communist Russia—the streets, buildings, and public works systems were unbelievably dated. Social progress had simply stopped dead in its tracks. Hospitals had nothing but cast-iron beds in the rooms. In major food stores butchers cut meat manually, while people waited patiently in interminable lines. Narrow, poorly maintained roads constantly threatened danger, and decrepit vehicles rumbled along them. With the fall of communism, western travelers discovered even bleaker truths: 20 percent of the people lived in abject poverty, and there was little welfare to care for the unfortunate. Many people have an idealized view of life without God, even to considering the advantages such a life might offer. The attraction is only an idea, however; it is far from reality. Without God life is barren, not decorated; it is drab and empty, not full. All that awaits those who refuse God are unsatisfied cravings, ignored needs, unattended pains, and unhealed wounds.
I say Merry Christmas! Light up the house! Decorate that tree! Put up the tinsel! Wrap the packages! Have parties! For God so loved the world that he sent His only begotten Son. He is the “Light of the World.”
Chuck
“Then Herod…became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem…” Matthew 2:16