TOD 12.04.07

Have you ever heard someone complain that Christmas is all about money and materialism? Although this can be true of some people, the person saying this probably doesn’t properly understand why we give Christmas gifts. At the first Christmas, the Magi gave Jesus gifts of incomparable worth, but it’s easy to miss what they were really saying to God in the process. “These are the most valuable things the world has to offer, and we eagerly part with them to honor the one Gift from You the world cannot match.”

Rather than being materialists, the Magi were actually declaring the worthlessness of material goods compared with God. They were thanking God for what He had given us all. In much the same way, every year we thank the people who show us love by giving them valuables which are but cheap thank you trinkets compared with the real worth they contribute to our lives.

People matter more than things, and the best use of things is to bless such people. If that’s materialism, then I am very confused about what the term means.