Another “Spirit of Christmas” Message

I know. Christmas is just a few days away. You’ve heard all the uplifting messages, and celebratory suggestions, discussed gifts and gatherings, and heard more than a few requests for donations from those working diligently for the underprivileged as they pull at your guilt strings. You might be tired of it all – before it even begins.

Maybe you don’t feel the Spirit of Christmas anymore. Perhaps you are feeling that it’s just too much work decorating only to shuttle the same boxes of decorations back to storage in short order anyway. Maybe you’d rather enjoy the frozen Stouffers Turkey Dinner alone rather than the family menu of choice and the disruptions that you are confident will eventually come to hard feelings or worse.

Maybe 

And I’ll warn you now, I will also be repeating a common message. 

There is a chance that you’ve already finished your Christmas shopping list. There’s an equal chance you haven’t yet begun! In either case, let’s talk about gifts. In most cases, we hope that what we give to one another will be appreciated and cherished. We know in our hearts that the success of this endeavor is not based on the price of the gift, but I’ll take this one step further.

DocMorris produced an advertising video in 2020 that bubbles up to captivate my attention at this time of year. If you’ve been around here for a while, you have already been invited to view this one. I do not need to watch it again as I’ve seen it countless times. But watch it, I will. I can’t help it.

It reminds us how difficult it is to find that perfect gift while we completely ignore what makes a gift - perfect.

The ad is not about a wrapped present. It’s about anticipating what will be needed when that present is unwrapped. It’s about the required pain and discomfort, the self-sacrificing time and energy to bring the wrapped gift to life. It’s about the gift of oneself to make the desire of another come true. 

It’s about creating joy, smiles, and memories for another at a cost to yourself. It’s about exactly that – my truest definition of love. 

My heart melts each time I see this video. While watching, I can feel the commitment, determination, and sacrifice as shown by this man to fulfill his goal. To me, he is an example of love itself.

And while we’re at it, let’s also remember that this definition of love is what started all this in the first place. The God of all creation bends infinitely low to become one of us. He then offers the sacrifice of this same human life to help us understand Love itself. 

"And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth". John 1:14

Merry Christmas

In the Driver’s Seat

Control. That's what this is. And we want it.

• We want to ensure things are done exactly how we want them done. 
• We want to be the decision-makers for our life plans and future – and sometimes, we claim this for others too.
• We have the right answer(s). Any disagreement means that others are wrong. And it’s because they are so very wrong, we will step in and fix things to get them back on track.

This controlling worldview probably means that we will have a difficult time ‘letting go’, trusting God, and submitting to God’s will. Does anyone else have this issue? Just me then?

Rules for Robots

Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) created the three rules of robotics. Before we begin, I have several background comments. 

• Isaac Asimov first used the word robotics.
• He wrote I, Robot, part of what is known as the Robot Series of fictional short stories.
• Since he was a writer of fiction, the rules of robotics are seen as guides to keep humanity safe with programmed ‘helpers’ – almost friends. 
• It is generally accepted that these rules are not extremely valuable, considering the advancements made in the field, but they are worth considering when developing AI and other technologies.

An Unexpected Lesson

This week, I noticed once again, how my cultural stereotypes have been reinforced. I faced a couple of situations where it just seemed like everyone was unduly angry and had overdosed on entitlement right here in my backyard. What happened to that Christmas Spirit of my childhood that I so vividly remembered?

I started comparing the city of New York and its nearly 9 million people to Manchester, Iowa with its population of 5,000.

In my head, I was tempted to hypothesize that even from 1,000 miles away, the “Empire State Attitude” of New Yorkers was bleeding into rural America. Of course, this is based on a well-known assumption, “New Yorkers are rude.”