You Are the Perfect Gift This Season

By Rev. Tyree Anderson

This is the season in which Americans typically mortgage their souls in the various department stores, malls, and outlets. Families hope to survive during this season as they try to live up to the expectations of their neighbors, friends, and family members. This season should be about peace and having goodwill toward all. Instead it is too often about rising debt, increased stress, and heightened high blood pressure, all of which is tied to an egotistical imbalance of who we are and who we think we are.

This is not just a dilemma during the holiday season; it is a problem we must address everyday in our lives. Imagine how much peace we will have if we ever discover who we really are. I have spoken to too many people who are more concerned about the economy than about their spiritual, mental, and physical well-being. This failure in self-discovery opens the door for other people to define and label us in a context that is alien and detrimental to our understanding of self. What is even more alarming is that we willingly participate in the annihilation of our character and develop an unfamiliar personality that is opposite to the one God created in us. It is never more obvious than during the Christmas season where purchasing gifts are more important than spending quality time with family and friends. The trauma of this season is unlike any other. The reason, I believe, is because we are more focused on giving gifts purchased with money instead of giving ourselves (who were made, crafted, and fashioned in the image of God).

Not only are we victims of our failure to understand our sense of worth, we are also victims of those who live to destroy us at our own expense. Did you know that some people become rich because we fail to know and appreciate our self worth? Here we are watching our economy collapse at a rapid rate and the robber barons or pirates, if you will, seek another bail out from the government only to maintain their highly structured and opulent lifestyles at the expense of faithful taxpayers. These “swash-buckling”, highly educated bandits from every corner of the economic strata are still not willing to admit that their greedy, immoral, and even criminal behaviors are as much to blame as those who decided to bite off more than they could chew in making purchases above their means. In the final analysis, the holders of the money knew the risk they took when lending to individuals who had a checkered credit history. Why give credit to a person who does not pay their bills or when they do fail to pay them on time? Developing various credit schemes and lending ploys hurt not only the individuals borrowing money, but companies, investors, and other stakeholders who all became victims of this sick and poisonous game. The fact is there is enough blame to go around.

Ok, everyone is a part of the problem--can we at least get to being a part of the solution.

Here are three things I think we can do to not only address the economic situation, but also adequately rectify our self worth and self-esteem problem:

1. Be a good steward. Do not spend money you do not have. And, do not spend what you have unless you need to.
2. Know thyself. Come to know your true self and not the one manufactured in your own mind or in that of the marketers.
3. Improve your relationship with God.

While these may seem out of order to some they are one in the same solution. For if you do one you will do the others.  Improving your relationship with God will lead you to discover who you are and you will not increase your debt to feed your ego and enrich the pirates of capitalism. If you discover who you are it will bring you closer to God and you will not have the desire to spend unnecessary money. Therefore, please take heed in this season of giving and give of yourself. The best gift this season is the gift of your true self and not your manufactured self.

Comments

[JD]

Rev. Tyree, that was an awesome blog. I will share your sentiments with others in this season;in the mayhem of it, we often forget.

Blessings-