Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt —Psalm 123:3
Holidays are tough for most of us. We get pulled in every year. We are bombarded with images of perfectly cooked turkeys, gifts that bring broad smiles, gatherings full of joy and good will. The reality never seems to live up to the images. Our past works the same. When it comes to memory, we stack the deck. In our minds, holidays of our childhood are recalled in a perfection that never existed. Face it, the good old days, weren’t always that good.
We have to be careful that we not become jaded. We must guard our minds and our attitudes less we shake our faith in Our God and in each other. We must move forward in the proper state of mind with the best attitude.
“Take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously” (Malachi 2:16). Our state of mind is powerful in its effects. It can be the enemy that penetrates right into our soul and distracts our mind from God. There are certain attitudes we should never dare to indulge. If we do, we will find they have distracted us from faith in God. Until we get back into a quiet mood before Him, our faith is of no value, and our confidence in the flesh and in human ingenuity is what rules our lives.
Beware of “the cares of this world . . .” (Mark 4:19). They are the very things that produce the wrong attitudes in our soul. It is incredible what enormous power there is in simple things to distract our attention away from God. Refuse to be swamped by “the cares of this world.” On Thanksgiving, giving thanks should be the focus, even if your house isn’t perfectly clean or you burn the turkey or one of the kids spills the dish you took all morning preparing onto your best rug.
Another thing that distracts us is our passion for vindication. St. Augustine prayed, “O Lord, deliver me from this lust of always vindicating myself.” Such a need for constant vindication destroys our soul’s faith in God. Don’t say, “I must explain myself,” or, “I must get people to understand.” Our Lord never explained anything— He left the misunderstandings or misconceptions of others to correct themselves. On holidays we often find ourselves tensed up with others who are tensed up and with whom we have considerable history. We often feel they haven’t understood or appreciated us. Nothing we say or do on a single day will change all that. Give it up.
Finally, holidays often bring us into contact with our “unsaved” loved ones, with back sliders, and the worldly, at least in our judgment. When we discern that other people are not growing spiritually and allow that discernment to turn to criticism, we block our fellowship with God. and our witness to them. God never gives us discernment so that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.
Use holidays this year for what they were originally intended. Give thanks on thanksgiving. Share the gift of love at Christmas. Make a new beginning on New Years. Let nothing else distract you and
Be blessed.
Nick
Be the first to reply