Did You Have A Nice Christmas?

As all the Merry Christmas', Happy Holidays and New Years wishes slowly fade away and die the death of yesterday, they are silently and seamlessly being replaced by “did you have a nice Christmas?”

The response is universally the same, “Great! and how about you?” which is then lobbed back like a toss of the football on Christmas Day, with perhaps a thank you or two thrown in, just so we won't seem impolite and can get the last word in, creating the impression that we are one of the most caring human beings living on this earth.

Call me twisted or weird, but have you ever wondered whether we are just being polite and couldn't really care any less how the other persons Christmas really went, or are we conditioned by our culture to offer this automatic response? Either choice disturbs me.

Maybe you never thought about it, but perhaps I just worry about the condition of my spiritual guts too much. I want to know because I seriously want to care deeply about my neighbor without needing some phony, contrived and under duress greeting to prove what's not really true.

Have you ever offered a nice greeting, fully realizing that you could really care less?

I have. Generally speaking I think most of us do care and not only want to seem genuine but actually be genuine. But as the Apostle Paul once said “how to perform, we find not”.

I believe God will honor our honesty and our struggle for true care, concern and compassion for our fellow humans. I believe this to be a life-changer. If we try and just force ourselves to change, nothing much gets done. We try and we try and the harder we try the weirder and meaner we get. But, if we will offer up to God our fears and failures, His all consuming fire will consume these weaknesses like so much kindling, bringing a pleasing aroma up before Him. The result will be our own mount of transfiguration, and our light shining as we were created to, transforming the environment and world around as we have new eyes to see and new ears to hear.

I have now spent some time at Starbucks drinking a latte and musing about this idea and typing these words. Pretty darn comfortable, I know. But this is how I work best and I get to meet all kinds of different people. I find everybody is extremely interesting if you take the time to find out about them.

Just now a bright light of a stranger came walking through the door, looked at me, in the eye and brightly said “the Lord is King!”. Imagine that if you would. He just stepped into this story. The Lord definitely is King. He moved along and ordered his drink, on his way out he stopped by and illustrated this story for me. He stopped and asked me if I was a preacher, and I warily responded “yes” while wondering what manner of greeting this was. He didn't ask me how I was doing or even say Happy New Year. Neal told me he prayed for preachers and he was going to pray for me. He said his mission (my word) was to pray for preachers and has been doing just that for five years. Because he was genuinely concerned about me, it wasn't necessary for him to tell me he cared. Just a few words, the look in his eye and the expression on his face told me his concern was more than heartfelt.

The only way I found out more about him was to ask. Neal used to “cook” Meth with the Hell's angels but got saved and since then has been praying for preachers. Imagine that from drug manufacturer to praying for preachers. Neal was changing the world around him through his genuine concern, care and prayer. I was going to end here but........

Then Joseph (no kidding) walked into my story. Joseph was inconvenient and wanted to tell me all this stuff about the computer I was typing on and I was thinking “I hope he stops before he gets to the flying saucers” I wanted him to stop, he was inconvenient. But he had walked into this story too. I gave myself to him and silently asked God to think and pray through me for Joseph. I listened to his stories until he moved on and I genuinely hope that helped his day and his head.

(Mark 9:42-43) "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched—

2011, I want to care more and change the world. How about you?

I “sincerely” wish you all a happy and prosperous new year.

Mike Matheson