Dec. 9/10 The
Advent Conspiracy- Spend Less
Scripture: Matthew 2: 1-12
We’re ready
to kick off week 2 of our Advent sermon series entitled The Advent Conspiracy, and if you weren’t able to join us last
week, or if you simply need a reminder, last week challenged us to worship
fully. If we do anything different this Christmas, we should worship
fully…because Christmas isn’t about us; it’s about Jesus. Christmas begins and
ends with Jesus. And if we forget to worship fully (or neglect to worship at
all), we can be sure that our Christmas celebrations won’t be nearly as
meaningful as they are meant to be. Because the closer you are drawn to this
Savior, the more you’ll begin to see your life change in ways you did not think
were possible.
Change
begins to take place the moment Mary is told she’s having a baby. Babies do
that, you know. When babies are born, or even when parents receive the news
that a baby is on the way, there’s a disturbance in the force. I was in the
final year of seminary when Joanna woke me up and said, “I have some news for
you…” And those simple words changed our lives forever. In the few seconds that
Joanna took to show me the positive pregnancy test, something shifted in our
beings. Immediately, our priorities and even the way we defined our lives took
on new meaning. There was at once a mix of joy and fear, excitement and
trepidation, wonder and mystery. Grocery lists would now include formula and
diapers and all sorts of other products that would change our spending habits.
Everything, including our budget, was about to change. And so it was with the
birth of this baby born in Bethlehem.
I guess you
never realize just how much change takes place when new life enters the world,
but it’s more than we recognize. Mary and Joseph had their worlds turned upside
down by Jesus, but they weren’t the only ones…Magi from other countries heard
about this little guy, so much so that they hopped on their camels to look for
him. The other person who caught wind of this baby’s birth was King Herod, and
he immediately called the local pharmacy to order a second supply of Prozac.
You wouldn’t think a baby would pose a threat to this mighty king, but this is
no ordinary king.
Herod was a king who had it all and
yet in reality, he had nothing. Placed in his position by the Roman Emperor
Ceasar, Ceasar once said about Herod, “I would rather be his pig than his son.”
He stopped at nothing to get what he wanted because he lived in a constant
state of anxiety and fear. The man feared that he would never have enough…or
worse, he feared he would some end up losing what he DID have. With this news
that a messiah is to be born, Herod can sense of shifting of the tides and
fears that life is about to change. And so to combat this anxiety, Herod found
ways to keep influential people by his side. He rubbed elbows with the
religious leaders of the day; he made sure the community’s movers and shakers
were on his side; and he even tried to buddy up with the Magi from the East. Herod
learns from the Magi’s visit that Jesus’ birth is to take place somewhere near
Bethlehem, and so he invites the Magi to locate the child and then report back
to him so that he, too, may go and worship. But that’s just his excuse. Herod
has no interest in worship. He has no interest in this child, except to use
this child to get what he wants. And what he wants is MORE!
That sounds pretty twisted doesn’t
it? Using the birth of baby for selfish gain? Exploiting someone else’s
happiness to keep on filling pockets that are already oversized and
overstuffed? Yet that’s exactly what Christmas has become for so many. The one
night meant to set people free, the pinnacle of hope for a dark world, has
become an obsession for more, and more and more. King Herod went on a killing
spree, resulting in the deaths of over 3,000 baby boys, simply because he
wanted more and didn’t want to lose out. And while that’s not our story, our
own desire for more cannot be ignored. According to a study done last year, the
average American consumer tacks on a fresh $1,000 of debt during Christmas due
to undisciplined spending habits. [1]Those
are the types of sprees we go on (and sometimes people DO get trampled in the
process. I’ve been in the malls on Black
Friday!) because we don’t want to lose out, nor do we want our loved ones
to lose out, on the latest edition, toy or device. But what if God had
something else in mind with the birth of His Son?
Later in his life, Jesus cautioned
his disciples about this unhealthy need for more. He talked about storing up
treasures in heaven, the stuff that that is eternal and abundant, instead of
storing up treasures on earth, which will only rot, decay and someday end up in
somebody else’s hands. And then he ended with something interesting. He says,
“Wherever your treasure is, that’s where you’ll find your heart.” I think what
Jesus is saying is that our souls are influenced by our pursuits and habits. If
we pursue the wrong things, or even the right things with the wrong intentions,
something happens to the core of who we are. And if we continue to pursue all
the wrong things, we’ll discover an insatiable appetite that is never fully
satisfied. We’ll always be on the hunt for the next big thing, or the next
model or the next toy…and we’ll end up just as empty inside as when we started.
That doesn’t sound like Christmas at all!
So what’s the solution? How do we celebrate Christmas in a way that
fills our hearts with joy and meaning? Those are the questions that plagued the
Cherry family from Austin Texas just a few years ago.
The Cherrys were growing weary with
their Christmas spending. It was out of control, and they were feeling almost
queasy about their habits. So they made a decision: they would slash their
spending budget. And at first, they were nervous. They had all the questions we
would have. What will the kids think of this? Will they think we love them
less? Will we still be able to provide a memorable Christmas? But the true
beauty of Christmas changed them. Listen to their testimony: “When we first talked with the boys about
changing or Christmas budget, they were a little disappointed. But looking
back, I don’t remember seeing any of that on Christmas Day. David and I are so
grateful for the Advent Conspiracy. We knew things didn’t feel right, that
there was something askew with our Christmases—but we couldn’t pinpoint exactly
what was wrong. I remember thinking something must be missing…Now I know that
more for us actually means a whole lot less.”
Maybe you’ve felt that way, too.
Maybe there’s something about your Christmas traditions that don’t feel quite
right. Something about King Herod’s comment about worship didn’t feel right to
the Magi, so they hurried off to find the one born in Bethlehem, and then they
returned home by another route. Might I suggest that maybe this year we should
take another route so that Christmas may change us once more? Might I suggest
that the way to experience MORE this Christmas is to actually spend less?
Spending less is obviously good for
our budgets. And less debt and financial stress is good for our overall health.
I can’t imagine any of us would be upset about saving money during Christmas.
So simply slashing our spending budgets might be a really healthy discipline
that could very well change our hearts. But spending less doesn’t mean spending
nothing. It’s more than that. Spending less means spending wisely; it means
spending in a way to glorifies God and truly lifts up the name of Christ during
this hope-filled time of year. So here are three ways that you can spend less
by spending wisely:
First, spend thoughtfully. And by
that, I mean this: Put some serious thought into truly understanding the people
you buy for. Do your gifts truly represent their needs, passions and personalities?
Or are they just gifts? And what story do the gifts tell? Do they speak to the
depth to which you know your loved one? What a difference it would make if you
had a personal meaning behind every gift you gave. Much has been made of the
symbolism of the Magi’s gift to Christ, but one thing is for certain: these
were not gifts that would be sold as the community yard sale next year. These
were gifts fit for a king. So if you want to spend less this year, spend
thoughtfully.
Secondly, spend responsibly. And by
that I mean to spend in ways that reflect your core values as a disciple of
Jesus. This one will require some homework on our part, and maybe even a little
bit of research because it asks us to consider the ways we love our global
neighbors. For instance: Do you know where your gifts come from? And I’ll let
you in on something: Your gifts don’t just appear at a department store or on a
website like Amazon. Some of the toys you’ve bought were packaged by children
the same age as the little ones you wish to surprise on Christmas Day…and they
weren’t allowed a drink of water while they worked. Some of the jewelry we wear
is adorned with diamonds that came out of the blood diamond fields of Africa.
Even some of the clothes we wear were fashioned in sweatshops as a form of
modern day slave labor. If Christmas truly is about God so loving the world,
how can our Christmas spending should reflect that love? There are all sorts of
fair trade companies and small-town businesses in our world that can help us
confidently proclaim, “No human rights were violated by the making and buying
of this gift.” That’s a bold way to celebrate the One who came to save us all!
Third, spend sacrificially. And by
that, I mean to give more of your self, which costs a lot more than money and
shopping trips. We’ll talk more about this next week, but one of the best ways
to spend less is to give more of you. And when we think about it, isn’t that
what makes Christmas Christmas? It’s
people that make all the difference in the world, not a gadget. The greatest
gift ever given was a person, Jesus Christ, and his presence with us brings
peace, joy, hope and love. That’s what the Magi found that day. Not an object,
but a person they would forever influence their lives. Ultimately, the Magi
returned home by another route because God had disrupted their lives at the
sight of this baby. Maybe it’s time for this Savior to disrupt our lives once
more and to help us celebrate Christmas with new meaning. Amen.
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