Quote (omg_banned @ Dec 26 2011 01:42am)
sry if i offended u i believe i have covered most of this in first post if u care to reread materialism, not excluding myself from contributor of problem etc never claimed to have all the answers nor did i blame kids
i believe u are frustrated and mixed some things up
u said "lso how are people lying to their kids because they tell them about Santa and give them gifts?" um santa doesnt bring gifts or exist
as far as ur statement "Your kids should be able to enjoy both parts of Christmas (spiritual and material) without compromising the "true" meaning. "
i understand y u think material is a part of CHRISTmas but i believe its not supposed to be i agree giving gifts isn't automatically disrespectful to Jesus
but i cant imagine him being pleased with the way we do it these days we as adults with free will have an obligation to God not to bribe children
into celebrating on CHRISTmas day not even a lil not even at first
i didnt make this post to argue i made cuz im disgusted with our enabling and helping society to slowly steadily kick Jesus out of CHRISTmas
we've almost succeeded in doing this by doing nothing God has put this on my heart and i am compelled to change i have coupe ideas
thought maybe someone else might feel same and use some my ideas and offer theirs
btw when i say "we" i mean as a society this isnt an accusation aimed at u but if u feel like it is maybe Gods putting it on ur heart too
if u want pm me for further discussion we can exchange messenger names
Your arrogance astounds me. This entire text was simply "I know what I'm talking about, and if the truth offends you, so be it." You do know that December 25th is not the ACTUAL day that Jesus was born right? "Christmas" was actually a pagan holiday to begin with and the church adopted it to be able to RELATE with the pagan society/culture. If you are offended that kids enjoy gifts on Christmas than it seems that YOU are weak spiritually. I have no problem giving gifts to my kids on Christmas because I am confident that I have raised them to understand what the gifts represent. Everything about Christmas (gifts, star, nativity scenes, etc..) are all symbolic to point to the true meaning. No different than taking communion. Should we not take communion either? I'd hate for someone to remember the taste of grape juice more than Jesus's sacrifice. ANYTHING in the church can be done with false pretenses and desires. Why are you singling out just Christmas? Should we also ban birthdays, Easter, mother's/father's day, etc.. ?? Luke chapter 9 says we should take up our cross DAILY. The point I am trying to make (which you are obviously missing) is the spiritual growth and maturity should happen well before Christmas morning arrives. I think you and I are on the same page with "Give thanks to Jesus first" that day. You just seem to be a bit extreme. If YOU are tempted to put material gifts before God, ban it from your own life. But to look down on people who celebrate Christmas with gifts is wrong.
Moral of the story - If you think I am saying gifts are more important than Jesus, you are wrong. What I am saying is that you should be spiritually mature enough to understand what Christmas represents and still partake in the Christmas festivities. (opening gifts, going to parties, decorating your house, etc..) If you are not, it sounds like a personal issue that needs to be resolved. But to push that belief on others (forbidding the exchanging of gifts) is wrong. Exchanging gifts is not wrong in the bible. Putting things above God is. Don't really know how else I can say that to you. I am not offended in the least. What you say doesn't impact my life nor will I change my Christmas traditions.
I'll leave you with this - Romans 14:5
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5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
The bold is the summary. Paul is talking about eating food offered to idols, but it can apply to this as well. If YOU see it as wrong, than it is wrong for you. That doesn't make it so for everyone else. Anything on this planet can be used for the wrong reasons. I know I wrote a lot, but hopefully you can understand what I am trying to convey through the text.
This post was edited by Dune1 on Dec 26 2011 12:24am