Ok to say merry christmas?

   You're not going to believe this! I know I had a had time with it when I first realized it. The bible does not say anything about Christmas! I know! It's crazy! So many Christians get offended when they can't proclaim a holiday that their religion created. The bible mentions a lot of holidays and festivals, but Christmas is not one of them. Now, so that I can cover my tracks and not make too many people mad, let me explain a little. I don't think Christmas is wrong. I don't think it's wrong to say merry Christmas. I don't think it's wrong to decorate for Christmas, or to give gifts. I do however think it's wrong to respond with pride when anyone questions our celebration of a God of love.
   I remember when I used to work at Macy's a few years ago, and they started displaying upside down Christmas trees. I thought it was a clever concept, but one employee disagreed. Her comment was, "What are they going to do next, Hang Jesus upside down at Easter?" She, as well as many Christians, was unaware that many Christmas traditions came from pagan origins. Not to mention she came across as a cocky jerk. Christmas was originally a pagan feast that, thanks to the catholic combining church and state somewhere around 313 AD, began to become integrated into religions celebrations. So it wasn't until a couple of centuries after Jesus and his disciples that Christmas as we know it began to come into the picture. Which I find interesting because there's a billboard near me that says "It's ok to say "Merry Christmas" - Jesus" These billboards annoy me almost as much as the cheesy signs in front of church's do, but I'll blog about that another time.
  So is it wrong to celebrate Christmas the way we do? Are we sinning by doing so? I don't think so. But the big thing is to not lose sight of love though all of these traditions we have. That's the true concept behind Christmas. Jesus come wouldn't be as meaningful if it wasn't for love. People get all worked up about "taking Christ out of Christmas" and degrade those who disagree, and in the process they take love out of Christmas. 1 John 4:8 says that God is love. You can leave Christ in the word Christmas all you want, but when you remove love is when you're truly taking "Christ out of Christmas"


not really related to this blog post exactly, but kinda funny

Ok to say merry christmas?

Do you get annoyed?

Naturally everyone does, but what gets you there? Seriously think about it for a minute, the things you get annoyed about, do they still matter tomorrow? Next week? Next year? Beyond that, do you stay annoyed about it? I've been getting irritated over some things lately. One only being a few minutes ago, but that's now gone and past and everything's cool. I'm trying to evaluate some of the things I've been getting upset with, and trying to figure out if they're worth it. Like when people come around and start criticizing things they really have no right criticizing. How mad can I get before I'm blowing it out of proportion? Is it wrong to snap at them? Is it wrong to stuff it inside and ignore it? What about when people are being complete douche bags, and acting immature? Is it wrong to cut them a bit so they see how ridiculous they're being? Is it wrong to let them continue in their foolishness, wreaking havoc on the world? As a Christian you hear the line, "What would Jesus do?" Which is a good question, but do we REALLY know the answer? A lot of people that who claim they do, have no idea. Which is another thing that gets under my skin, people who go around trying to represent Jesus and being a complete fool. I'm not talking about looking foolish and doing things outside of your comfort zone, I'm talking about people who are being completely incompetent. People who THINK they have this "Christian" thing together and want to go out and get people to follow Jesus with them. People who wear Christian T-shirts and then completely degrade others who disagree with them. People who re-interpret the Bible to make it convenient for them. People who try to make up rules to follow God that aren't in the Bible. People who don't understand and don't care that when Jesus said to be his witnesses in all the world, he didn't mean butcher your grammar and go "witnessing". People who think just because they fulfilled specific requirements that they're not sinning anymore in their hearts. People who go to my friends at college and try to get them to join their ridiculous "Jesus club" by interrupting them while their eating, and then being completely incompetent when someone engages them in conversation about their own beliefs. What do I do with that? With them? Yeah I'm supposed to love them sure, but does that mean laying down and shutting up so I don't offend people? Didn't Jesus offend people on a regular basis? Culture's not the same anymore but the principles still transcend don't they? I think Jesus were around today in flesh, he would chew out a lot of people who are trying to follow him. I might even be one of them. I'm no where near perfect. If I offended you in this post, well I'd probably be lying if I said I was sorry, because these are things that really do annoy me. Doesn't mean I don't love you.

Do you get annoyed?