Another Christmas season is in full tilt as I sit in the dark, with only the Christmas tree lights illuminating my family room. Like most mornings, I start with quiet and coffee. The past few days, something else has crept into these sacred moments. Shopping. That’s right…shopping.
My solitude quickly yields to the ever-increasing pressure to get the shopping done. I sift through emails, social media streams, and (gasp!) printed fliers, scouring for holiday shopping deals. Unavoidably, this process presents to me an array of gifting choices. Too many in fact, leading to the simultaneous feeling of decision fatigue.
Oh, better check Etsy too.
Where is the lady who crochets mini pug dolls? Ah – Instagram.
In all my searching, scanning and scrolling, I probably look at a hundred photos or more; photos of family and friends, ads, sales…dogs…cats.
Lots of cats.
And stuff. Because, you know, we’re #blessed!
More and more I notice folks posting images of what appears to be a life free of care and full of abundance, which makes sense. Most people I know wouldn’t post photos of their spouse crying after a quarrel, a “selfie video” shouting angrily at another driver or a snapshot of an overdrawn bank account. Nope. We typically post the glossy parts of our existence with filters to boot, carefully crafting a public life void of brokenness and deep pain. This life is exemplified through happy smiles, new houses, sparkling cars and an ever-changing wardrobe in this season’s hottest hue (its purple this year, right?), most ending with the ever popular ‘#blessed’.
Are we #blessed? Really?
And is it because we have all this stuff? By process of elimination, are those without…not? Have we ever stopped to think about what this says to people around us with little or no means? If being blessed means favor from God, are we favored and others aren’t? Does God play favorites and I’m one of them because I have stuff??
Why isn’t everyone as favored as we are?
I can’t help but think, as I sit here trying to figure out how exactly to spend my Christmas shopping budget, there are so many people who are never faced with this “problem”. The searching for deals, waiting for that next sale…it’s all about the thrill of the hunt, almost entertainment! Definitely indulgent.
While the majority of the world never shops.
Now, I’m not criticizing those with a lineup of nice cars, new shoes and North Face jackets. I have nice things too and jealousy is a fruitless endeavor. But I do think slowing down and asking these questions is worth my time and leads me to two specific ideas to ponder.
First, maybe we can stop equating wealth, material goods, status, etc. with God’s favor. It unintentionally communicates God is a respecter of persons. More than likely, your pricey, new car is because you have a good job or a generous grandma. It’s not because God favored you over someone else. Grateful? Yes. Did God pick you over someone else? Um, no.
Jesus (that crazy radical!) had a slightly different definition of being #blessed. Check out Matthew 5:1-12:
1-2 When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:
3 “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
4 “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One dearest to you.
5 “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
6 “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
7 “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
8 “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
9 “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
10 “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.
11-12 “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable.
When thinking about this topic, it was easy to begin wondering why everyone in the world doesn’t have the same advantages, access, resources and wealth as we do. This question is complicated and so nuanced, I don’t believe there will ever be a clear answer. And even if there was, would anything truly change? How long would change take?
And while I’m so glad there are those in the world working on those answers, there’s a different question you and I can ask…which leads me to my second thought…
Instead of asking why, it just might be more productive to start asking WHAT. What can we do with these advantages, access, resources and wealth for those who have not? What can I make possible for someone else as a result of what I have?
See, this question gets us off the endless wheel of “why” and requires us to look for answers within ourselves and within our control. It also causes us to stop scrolling, searching and posting long enough to truly consider how our lives can better all those around us.
What can you do this season and all year round, to take what you’ve accumulated and create possibilities for someone else?
