Christmas or Me-mas?

The current commercialization of Christmas makes me wonder if we shouldn’t call it “Me-mas.” From many angles, December can be an awfully self-centered time of the year, can’t it? It can produce the very thing God hates – self-centeredness and pride. Let’s be honest – when you spend ...

• $24,500 on a genuine Lost in SpaceB-9 robot, or 
• $27,000 on a life-size (6’- 6”) Lego Batman, with only a $2700 shipping charge, or 
• $98,000 Ferrari Testarossa Two Seater Car for Kids, or 
• $250,000 on this Dance-On Piano (that’s $2841 per key and it comes with a private one-hour lesson) … 

…well, about the only thing that can result is a false and warped sense of our own importance. In a word, P-R-I-D-E!

(NOTE: These are actual Christmas gifts that can be bought (maybe not by any of us). Check http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/featr/content/shared/entertainment/interactives/holidays/christmas_outrageous_gifts/index.html for more outrageous gifts ideas.)

Pride is unpacked rather clearly in Micah 2. After all, it was the pride of his people that God took a stand against (Micah 2:3). It was the fundamental problem in Judah (with Jerusalem as the seed bed), and it was rampant in the northern kingdom as well (Samaria being the heart of the problem). In fact, we see throughout the first two chapters of Micah a clear oracle against the pride of these two capital cities.

But it's especially in chapter two that a more complete description of the proud activities that went on in these cities is given. Things like …

• Sinister planning and corrupt use of authority/power (2:1) 
• Wrongful seizure of property and houses (2:2) 
• Deceptive deals and contracts (2:2) 
• Blatant robbery (2:8) 
• Outright lies (2:11) 

For sure, there is some good insight in these verses about pride and how it piles up in our life. Essentially, we need to understand that pride …

1. Is birthed in selfishness,
2. Is often heightened with stuff, and
3. Is usually evidenced by what I say.

The consequence? We’re pulled away from God! Truly, that’s the plague of pride – it piles up in our life and pulls us away from God!

The antidote? Somebody or something needs to flatten the piles of pride around us. That is called humility, and the honor of humility is in this: in the flattening of us and everything around us, we only see God. It loosens our grip. It takes us down. In fact, we should embrace this posture, for we are commanded to “humble ourselves before the Lord” that he may lift us up. Good advice since it is clear that God will if we don’t! Is that scary? Yes. But necessary! So it is “neces-scary!”

This Christmas, embrace humility. Find the flat posture before God. Be content with the escalator down.

Merry CHRISTmas!