Ok, so I will jump on the bandwagon of being critical of the Christians, who have jumped on the bandwagon of being critical of secular society (in this case Starbucks), which creates reasons for secular society to jump on the bandwagon of being critical and dismissive of Christians in general.
How is that for a run on sentence?!?
Confused yet? Well, hang in there…
First o
f all, I am all for calling Christmas… Christmas….because, well… that is what it is. Christ came… “Merry Christmas!”
And Here: God With Us And The Cultural Yawn
Second of all, we Christians have our own “political correct” speech. And wow, if you cross a Christian’s political correctness by not using the word “Christmas” or by not saying anything at all…. you will evoke the wrath of the Christians, Christmas. Which is kind of amusing, but mostly sad, because when you do so… this poor society runs into a very UN-Merry, Christian, Christmas, greeter.
“IT’S MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!” Yells the Christian. “YOU HEARD ME, IT’S MERRY CHRISTMAS.”
And then there was the time when I watched a lady yell at the Santa Bell Ringer…..”It’s not Happy Holidays….It’s Merry Christmas!” You can read about that, here.
My friends, in all the passion for a politically correct “Christmas”, might we have forgotten the “Merry” part? Is it Merry?
It is merry because Christ has come and taken on human flesh. That baby in the manger is the Son of God and Savior of our sins! Merry indeed! Is there any greater reason for “Merry… Christmas”?
I am not offended by the Starbucks cup that lacks the Christians political correct version of “Merry Christmas”. I would love it if it were there… but, maybe we have taken things a….bit…..too… far? Does every “Seasons Greetings” need to be corrected? Some say yes, and some are even offended that I would ask the question.
I understand the Christians perspective….I am one! I understand the desire to take a stand, or to not buy in to the opposite political correctness of “Season Greetings”, and yet….I don’t understand.
Why are we so surprised by a cup? Starbucks released a red cup and a white lid for Christmas…. ok….I am not sure that is a news story.
Past cups included snowman, snowflakes, and reindeer. Was that equally….horrible?
What is the bigger concern:
Is the bigger concern that a secular company does secular things and makes a Christmas cup, red with no reference to Christmas?
OR
Is the bigger concern the Christian outrage, anger, and gross disdain towards the world? Are we getting our point across or does the believer become more and more dismissive of Christianity due to the ridiculous over-reaction?
Friends, the bigger concern is not secular companies. They are doing what secular companies do….Some promote Jesus to make a buck and others ignore Christ in Christmas. I get that…. they are “secular”. The bigger concern for me is the Christian, in the midst of the outrage, also ignores Jesus in Christmas by not living in the good of all that Jesus offered that first Christmas.
Christmas is….
- the Son of God in human flesh!
- the God Man!
- truly awesome to consider!
- The Savior of the world was born so that He might one day die for our sins!
Yes, the believer in Jesus Christ has every reason to have a Merry Christmas!
By the way….It is not the 1st time culture shunned Jesus….I think that is why He was born in a stable wasn’t it? I am pretty sure a nice room at the local Holiday Inn would have been a preferred accommodation. Jesus was turned away then and He is turned away today.
That much is certain.
What is uncertain is:
Will the believer in Jesus Christ have the grace to engage with the culture or will he or she continue in the outrage and thus make himself a target to be easily dismissed by the very culture he or she is called to reach.
No, I am not interested in the foolish watering down of the gospel that we so often see by the church today. Quite the contrary! Actually, that is why I write. Have we forgotten the person who needs Jesus because of the cup he or she hands us?
By the way, I write this post from…..Starbucks… because there are people here. Customers and baristas who need Jesus! They are everyday people who need to engage with believers, May God help us to that end!
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
(Colossians 4:6 ESV)
Do you have Mr. Howard Schultz’s e-mail address? He needs to see this!
I totally agree. When I first heard of this controversy, I really couldn’t believe it was real. I just looked at the last two years cups and saw bows, wreaths, snowflakes… Even less sure. I feel like I should investigate if this is a Starbucks publicity stunt.
“Happy Holidays” really means “Happy Holy Days.” This can be a way to engage someone into a conversation, asking if they know what the “holidays” …”holy days” are about!