Plea for simplicity

Hennie Symington

Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. Mark 10:21-22

For many Christmas is a license to shop. For some it’s almost become a kind of religion while the modern shopping “cathedrals” pull out all the stops to kindle an almost religious fervour in shoppers.

Why do we love shopping sprees so much (especially around Christmas)? Is it because we’ve been caught up in a virtual reality created by the advertising media or have we become so materialistic that we don’t even blink when a certain company hails their pizzas with a “Hallelujah chorus”, Jesus” becomes a label on a pair of jeans, banks are portrayed as your “Ultimate Provider”, ice cream is extolled as “heaven on earth”, an airline purports “to hold the whole world in our hands”, while Sunday is hailed as the best day for shopping with the family? And since

when have we become so used to it, that it doesn’t even bother us?

If only we could remind ourselves in the midst of the excesses of Christmas that Christ was born by candlelight in a stable, not a 5-star maternity home; and that simple shepherds were his first visitors, then perhaps we as Christians could begin to take a stand, starting with our own nearest and dearest, against the rampant materialism in a country where the greater part of our population are struggling just to hold body and soul together.

Prayer

Lord, we love Christmas for all the joy and happiness it implies. Let me not search for riches in the material things, but in the vast richness of your love and mercy when come to us at no cost. Amen