Real Meaning of Christmas

Now that the Christmas season is drawing to a close, I can breath a long sigh of relief. What am I relieved about? The end (finally) of all the sappy crap about the "real meaning of Christmas." It seems that just after Thanksgiving the television and radio started blasting my home with songs and TV shows & movies purporting to give me the "real meaning of Christmas."

I thought for a while that the absolute epitome of nauseating garbage was that song "Christmas Shoes" by Bob Carlisle. The radio station I listen to most often (KLTY) played it incessantly until I was ready to puke. To make matters worse, people would call in to request it. A friend came to my house and heard it. She remarked about how much she liked it. (I cringed.)

But then KLTY did something worse. They host a holiday "wish list" program, where they show up at fast food restaurants with Christmas wishes that you can stop by to browse through. You pick out a wish to grant. Then they call the wisher on the phone and tell them they're going to grant the wish. The pathetic individual who is desperate for food or rent money often sobs with relief.

This would all be good --- if KLTY didn't then replay the same episode over and over again (we're talking dozens of times). I thought it was degrading and disrespectful to the poor people who were actually being helped. But they do. After hearing the same sob story dozens of times, I wanted to scream, "Who is going to pay these people's rent next month and the month after that!" Frank, the announcer on the radio, acts as if they've actually changed someones life. For heaven's sake, they paid this month's rent and gave them some money for food and Christmas presents. What will happen next month? These are not solutions, folks. They are temporary hand-outs that mostly benefit the giver by making them feel good, and KLTY by making them look good!

My wife told me to be quiet. She doesn't want anyone to know how cynical I've become about the alleged "real meaning of Christmas." So while I sat and stewed about it all month, I turned on the TV. Dear heavens, do you know how many sappy shows there are about Christmas? There must be some Christmas movie factory in China that just pumps these babies out. It seemed there were several to choose from each day. The most insane? Whoopee Goldberg as Santa Claus!

I remember as a child enjoying a few good Christmas shows ... the classics like Rudolf and Frosty the Snowman. They were wonderful and I even enjoy them today. Some of the more modern Christmas movies are destined to be classics too. One of my favorites is the original Home Alone movie. But folks, we don't need four different sappy Christmas movies every single day to watch. Magic reindeer, Christmas shoes, angels unaware, Eartha Kitt, Whoopee Goldberg, and all --- still couldn't make these movies worthwhile. Most of them had some sappy, crappy happy ending that had no resemblance of reality.

So why did I get so moved by this garbage? Because, folks, it is HERESY. The "real meaning of Christmas," as depicted by the modern media, is a fallacy. It is not true. It is not even close to true. Jesus told us to love others as we would like to be loved. He said it is the second most important commandment. We are to do so all year round - not just at Christmas.

The real meaning of Christmas is that God Himself came down to earth to drag our wretched, sinful selves from the fiery pit of hell. We are grateful for that gift and celebrate it on Christmas. I am a filthy sinner, unable to fully repent or turn from my sinful ways on my own. So God, in His miraculous love, sent a Savior to rescue me. That, my friends, is the real meaning of Christmas. When will Bob Carlisle write a song about that? When will KLTY sponsor a program that helps people understand that? When will Fox or Family Channel host 47 different movies that tell that amazing, incredible story?

Like I said, I'm breathing a sigh of relief. The season of heresy is finally coming to a close. God bless us all, as we browse through the discounted Christmas stuff at Wal-Mart (and pick up some Valentine candy that's already on sale).