This year, I noticed stores that put up Christmas decorations and started advertising for the holiday even before Halloween. Many feel that retailers are rushing to the Christmas season while skipping over Thanksgiving. One friend on Facebook posted a picture stating, “Here is a picture of my Christmas tree. It’s still in the shed because it’s still November.” Another posted a picture of a turkey wearing a Santa outfit that said, “Merry Thanksmas!” Lots of folks want others to slow down and take it one season at a time. Well, I am not necessarily one of them.
On the day after Halloween, I posted a meme of Andy Griffith yelling, “Hey y’all. You can decorate the Christmas tree now!” Thanks to Amazon Echo and Pandora, I listen to Christmas music a lot all throughout the year. I don’t believe that we should only listen to it after Thanksgiving and up to New Year’s Day. I have Jesus in my heart always, and His birth is a big part of that story. Also, when I am feeling down or just blah, listening to Christmas music has a way of lifting my spirit no matter what season of the year we are in.
Many of you are familiar with Matthew 5:13 (NIV): “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” I love the way this verse reads in The Living Bible translation: “You are the world’s seasoning, to make it tolerable. If you lose your flavor, what will happen to the world? And you yourselves will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.” Did you catch that? Followers of Christ are the world’s seasoning! We make it tolerable. If we lose our flavor, the world will deem us as useless and discard us.
In a world that can be dull, dark, and often times tasteless, we are called not only the light of the world, but the world’s seasoning. So, if celebrating Christmas throughout the year lifts your spirit, brightens your light, or just melts your butter, then sing for “Joy to the World.” Because if there is one thing this world needs, it is a little extra seasoning.
God’s Best…Steven