If you don’t know, TLDNR stands for “Too long, did not read”. Luckily, I know God has a sense of humor. And He also knows that, thanks to my St. John’s (http://www.stjohnshigh.org) education, I have read the Bible. I may not be able to quote chapters and verses, but I do remember (what I think is) the main message…
I love Christmas, but I can’t honestly say that I believe Jesus was God in human form. I do think that it’s amazing that after 2,000 years people are still talking about and worshiping the son of a carpenter. And I think Jesus’ message was great and simple. He wanted people to love each other. Like I wrote for my “Coexist” t-shirt (http://bit.ly/coexistshirt), he preached the Golden Rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated. But I see many “Christians” not doing that. I see them preaching hate. I see them excluding others. I don’t see them acting like Jesus. I wouldn’t be surprised if some Christians said this t-shirt was sacrilegious. But like many religious groups, it’s the extremists that you hear about. Not all Christians are hateful excluders just like not all Muslims believe “jihad” gives them the right to kill non-believers.
What I don’t understand is why the loving/understanding/peacefulness of Christmas can’t be applied to the other 364 days of the year. Little acts of kindness, generosity to strangers, and Love can happen every day of the year. If everyone lived by the Golden Rule every day, it could be like Christmas all year long.
People decide to fight and be selfish. Religious zealots choose to take their beliefs and turn them into hate, war, and exclusion. Leaders have not figured out a way to live in peace. We are not taking care of our earth home or our family of humankind.
To me, Christmas is not a religious holiday. I go to church, but it’s more for my mother than for God. I do believe in God, but my God doesn’t care what you call Him or who/what you think is divine. My God just wants (like Jesus) everyone to get along and take care of each other. My God wants no one left behind. My God doesn’t like people using His name for hateful acts. My God does want people to act like it’s Christmas every day, but doesn’t care if it’s December 25th or June 25th or a religious holiday.
To me, the real Christmas and Christian thing to do is very simple. Love, and do it all year long. You certainly don’t need the Bible to do that…
PS- thanks to Busted Tees (http://www.bustedtees.com/tldnr) for donating this shirt!
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