USA Today reports that a 25-year-old Memphian has declared his 
intention to renounce the Christmas rush. He and his wife have told their 
family and friends not to expect gifts from them this year. "We don't feel 
any obligation to buy gifts," he says. "I felt odd getting things I didn't 
need."

        The Washington Post carries a similar story that broadens the 
indictment. It quotes psychologist Patricia Dalton who says that she and her 
colleagues see hosts of unhappy people whose lives have been hollowed out by 
"runaway consumerism" -- the compulsion to buy clothes they don't need, 
expensive accessories they can't afford, and high-end trinkets they have 
come to regard as essentials to life. The stress of paying for all these 
things drives people to work so hard that they're ruining their marriages, 
their family life, and their health.

        Yet we know the American economy could collapse if everybody 
suddenly quit buying gifts, new things, and only the things we truly need! 
So what is a responsible person to do? What should a spiritual person do? Is 
there a middle ground between being a sour-faced Scrooge and a ravenous 
spendthrift?

        My own opinion is that Christmas is one of the most joyous times of 
the year. I'm not for abolishing gift-giving as part of the season. Can't we 
see the gifting we do for one another at Christmas as a reminder of heaven's 
great gift to us in the birth of Jesus? Is the choice really so extreme as 
frugality versus greed?

        Some of us do behave irresponsibly around Christmastime. We seem to 
forget that debt enslaves. We shower children with an excess that leaves 
many of them both greedy and ungrateful. Christians too often wind up their 
year feeling spiritually empty -- drained by a holiday that should have been 
a holy day.

        So give appropriate gifts to the people you love. As a testimony to 
grace received, shower grace on others. But set sensible boundaries about 
the money you can pay for those gifts, so pride and greed don't drive your 
spending. If things are tight for your family this year, draw names and 
radically minimize the buying.

        Whether flush or finite in your giving potential, build generosity 
and sharing into your family scheme. If you can't make a donation or supply 
a gift, help at a homeless shelter. Visit a nursing home. Attend free 
Christmas Eve worship.

        Don't gripe that everyone has "forgotten the true meaning" of 
Christmas. Just embrace it for yourself and your family. And model it for 
those who may have gotten caught up in the hijacking of what can still be a 
holy season for you.

        Rubel Shelly
        whcoc@...

        Write Rubel and let him know what you thought of his story!

        (c) 2004 Rubel Shelly. Used by permission.

        Visit: http://www.faithmatters.com to read more of Rubel's writing 
or to sign up for his weekly column: FAX of Life.


        Rubel Shelly has preached for the Woodmont Hills Church of Christ in 
Nashville since 1978. During that time, he has also taught at David Lipscomb 
University and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He is the author of 
more than 20 books, including several which have been translated into 
languages such as Korean, Japanese, Portuguese, Italian, French, and 
Russian. He is married to the former Myra Shappley, and they are the parents 
of three children: Mrs. David (Michelle) Arms, Tim, and Tom.







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