Christmas Haters
There are three people who hate Christmas. Perhaps you have met one of them. We’ve all met the first
one, Ebenezer Scrooge. Because we are privy to his entire story, we feel sorry for him. He had a
disappointing life. His childhood was unlike that of his friends. He befriended money which cost him his
girlfriend and a chance to share his life with someone special. He did have one sister who loved him, but
she died early in life. Mr. Scrooge’s life was not a happy tale to recall. The few happy memories that he
owned, were drowned in the sea of his overwhelming dissatisfaction with the hand he had been dealt.
He didn’t want Christmas to remind him of everything he had lost in life.
Then there is the Grinch. He never understood Christmas. No one had ever explained it to him. He saw
the hustle and bustle. He saw the entire celebration unfolding from his elevated position. He took the
dark road that others sometimes take. Instead of ignoring what we don’t understand, we try to destroy.
The Grinch set out to destroy this happiness that he couldn’t put his finger on. Who knew that he was
suffering from a bad heart? His miniature heart did not have the capacity to receive all that his eyes had
witnessed. He needed a heart transformation.
Finally, there is Charlie Brown. His Christmas experience leaves him feeling depressed. He feels that he
is not liked and the holiday season will magnify this feeling. Poor Charlie Brown; it took Linus to explain
to him that Christmas is not a feeling. He was fortunate. After years of anticipating and experiencing
depression during the holidays, he finally had someone step up to the plate and explain the real
Christmas story.
To sum them up, we have the discouraged, the disillusioned and the disappointed. Discouraged people
have lost hope that the future includes anything good for them. This was the condition of Mr. Scrooge.
However, disillusioned people are mixed up, confused and take a contrary path to go against society.
This was Mr. Grinch. Finally, the disappointed people of the world have been overlooked. They never
received Christmas cards. They were absent, asleep or not paying attention when the real Christmas
meaning was explained. This was Charlie Brown. The big question I ask myself is can I make a difference
in their lives.
Dear Lord, I pray that I show more understanding this year for every Ebenezer Scrooge. Help me to
reshape someone’s ideas so they won’t end up a lonely person only able to recall life’s unpleasant
memories. Show me how to deal with the Grinchs who don’t understand my joy of Christmas and want
to steal it. Help me to show them that the joy I have is not commercialized and therefore can’t be taken
from me.
And Lord please don’t let me get caught up with going through the motions of the holiday season
without sharing with every inquiring Charlie Brown the true meaning of your birth and why its’ worth
celebrating at Christmas and every day of the year. Amen.
