A child is born : Isaiah 9:6-7, Peacemakers : Matthew 5:9, Surpassing : Philippians 4:1-7, No More War : Isaiah 2:1-5
More Than Enough
Here are two stories….
1. I remember walking through a well-known toy shop last Christmas looking for a present for one of the boys. I saw a woman with a trolley piled high coming towards me, I thought to myself, ‘she must have a lot of children to buy for’. As she moved by I heard her talking loudly on the phone. ‘I don’t think I have bought him enough…’ These weren’t presents for a handful of children they were presents for just one.
2. Isaiah tells us about a child who will be born called the ‘Prince of Peace’ and that ‘of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end’. This child was probably King Hezekiah but after the birth of Jesus the New Testament writers interpreted these verses as pointing to him as well. The Message translates these verses differently and uses the word wholeness instead of peace.
Wholeness and peace are closely linked and are often interchanged in translations from the Hebrew word Shalom. Shalom was about the wholeness of life, the balance between our physical, emotional and spiritual self and it is definitely more than just the absence of war and conflict.
What does this have to do with spending less?
Christmas has become a celebration of the national debt for many, tens of thousands max out credit cards and buy more than is needed to try to make themselves and others happy. Yet so often the accumulation of more stuff doesn’t really do the trick. Spending more and having more doesn’t satisfy and doesn’t bring a sense of wholeness to our life.
On a larger scale this is often how war and conflict breaks out. The need for power, control, and resources cause groups, individuals and nations to try and take more to satisfy their desires. As more is acquired we find that it is not enough and so more is sought to fill the gap.
The cost of all this is beyond measure.
So the challenge this advent is to spend less so that we and others can experience wholeness and peace this Christmas. Of all the challenges this is probably the hardest one for us to do. We will worry what people will think if they get less than they were expecting or if they don’t get anything at all. It’s difficult to resist the pressure from the world around us to downsize our Christmas but it’s something that can be done in different ways.
- Think about what you spend. Do you need to buy this and will christmas be less special without it.
- Set a budget and don’t go over it… no matter what.
- Spend more… sometimes buying cheap means others around the world have suffered for that price tag. Buying something from a more ethical background may cost you more but won’t cost others.
- Many charities have Christmas gifts you can buy for people around the world. Why not buy a family a goat. You can also let someone know that you spent the money on someone in need instead of on the tin of quality streets you normally give them.
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Further Reading
Irresistible Revolution : Shane Claiborne
Questions
Can you relate to the first story? Have you felt the pressure to buy more to make someone happy?
Does having more stuff make you happy? what does make you feel whole and at peace?
Can you spend less this Christmas? how can you downsize your Christmas?
Who could you give one less present too? How else could you ‘spend less’ this Christmas?
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