Merry Christmas!

Once a year we Christians are asked to remember the birth of the savior of souls of mankind.  We pay homage for the one who will sacrifice His own life for our everlasting salvation.  Once a year.  How sad is that?  Once a year most Christians celebrate the birth of Christ by going into debt purchasing expensive material things and forgetting the free spiritual peace which is ours for the asking.  What does Christmas mean to you?  Does your mind immediately go to gift buying, or do you think of Him?  I'll tell you where my mind travels first, and then you can think about it... if you wish.

"Spirit," said Scrooge, with an interest he had never felt before, "tell me if Tiny Tim will live."

"I see a vacant seat," replied the Ghost, "in the poor chimney corner, and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die."

"No, no," said Scrooge. "Oh no, kind Spirit! say he will be spared."

"If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, none other of my race," returned the Ghost, "will find him here. What then? If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."

Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief.

"Man," said the Ghost, "if man you be in heart, not adamant, forbear that wicked cant until you have discovered What the surplus is, and Where it is. Will you decide what men shall live, what men shall die? It may be, that in the sight of Heaven, you are more worthless and less fit to live than millions like this poor man's child. Oh God! to hear the Insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much life among his hungry brothers in the dust."

-- Charles Dickens, "A Christmas Carol"

I pay little attention, during the year, to the needs of those who struggle.  I suppose my fault is in being too concerned with whether they truly struggle, or if they are content to let others struggle for them while they simply sit back and suck sustenance from the public teat which these others pay such high taxes to provide.  I tend to concern myself, instead, with those children in need.  The children of those who struggle for something better will learn a hard lesson about the value of that struggle.  The children of those parents content to live out their lives sucking from the public teat will be in real danger of following their parents down this same path of self-worthlessness unless they either discover a higher path for themselves or are mentored toward a better path.  The children are who I care about, and the same novel by Dickens was my impetus:

"They are Man’s," said the Spirit, looking down upon them. "And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it!" 

"Have they no refuge or resource?" cried Scrooge.

"Are there no prisons?" said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. "Are there no workhouses?"

I beware "Ignorance" more than I do "Want."  Ignorance is a government that forces the poor into a welfare state which demands nothing from them in return for what is given.  Ignorance is expecting those who get something for nothing will ever give back, especially when the "something" they receive for free is neverending.

I hear stories about parents who have their small children assisting them in stealing from supermarkets.  This is not parenting.  A thirteen-year-old boy was arrested for killing a female college student this week, and people will probably bemoan black-on-white violence, but I don't think race matters.  This is about parenting, being a healthy role model and teaching good values, Christian values, or Buddhist, or Islamic values.  Even moral atheist values are better than having no good moral compass at all in your life.

So... Merry Christmas!  Happy Hanuka!  Seasons greetings!  Whatever your spiritual tilt, have the best time you can this season and throughout the year.  Be tolerant of others and let them practice their peaceful spiritual beliefs in the same manner you wish to practice yours.  We are supposed to feel the "spirit of the season" which is a spirit we should exercise 24/7/365, but most of us don't.  I don't often get material presents for family or friends except for the occasional gift card.  I donate in their name, during the holiday season, to assist feeding the poor in my small town.  I don't care who they are or what they believe, as long as they believe it peacefully and leave others alone. 

So, in all humility, I offer an idea to those of us who slack off where our fellow man is concerned.  With the New Year right around the corner, most of us will give as little consideration to New Year resolutions as we do the poor, so how about making the poor, those who struggle for a better circumstance, your New Year's resolution.  In particular, those poor children who need to see the best in those adults around them.  Don't let our inept government keep throwing money at the problem instead of trying to solve it.  The solution is about creativity, not money.  The solution is about having an achievable goal, not just kicking the can down the road for the next generation to deal with.  It's about everyone putting boot to ass, including the government.  

Yes, this means you need to get off your lazy ass and do a bit of research.  Get over it.  There are already programs out there focussing on the health and welfare of "at-risk" children.  Some ensure children get at least one healthy meal during the day, even on weekends.  There are "closets" that accept donations of dress clothes for those looking toward job interviews.  There are also programs teaching young folks how to dress, act, talk, and fill out job applications and resumes.  Make a resolution you can actually keep this year and in the years to come.  Make a resolution to get involved with those who really need you - our children.  And, make a resolution to hold Christmas in your heart... all year long.

Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.

He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.