Manger Danger

Christmas seems to have gotten so "churchy." Churches for years have complained about the commercialization of Christmas, yet many churches seem to be the ones who are putting up the billboards advertising their services with phrases like, "Put Christ back into Christmas" and "Jesus is the reason for the season." Catchy phrases, but I am not sure that these messages are all that Biblical or cause someone to pull their car over and pray for forgiveness of exploiting Christmas.

Katy ISD has a warning system that warns our community of strangers trying to entice children to come with them. It is called "Stranger Danger." These alerts have actually worked towards eradicating strangers from picking up children. Instead of "Stranger Danger," I would like to start "Manger Danger."

What is Manger Danger? It is when the manger (or other props) becomes the focus of Christmas. I am not sure it is all that big of a deal that Jesus was in a manger. Millions of children in the world would gladly trade their dirt floors for a manger. Also, I am not sure the smell of a barn is all that offensive. I would much rather smell animal waste than human waste.

Manger Danger also involves putting more emphasis on the "bedtime" story of the birth of Christ than scripture. By bedtime I mean the cute, neat, and contained story we tell our children. The Christmas story is anything but tidy.

These are a few of my thoughts this morning about Christmas. What are yours?