Christmas   For a few years now the president of a newly established bible college and seminary has waged a written campaign about the changes unbelievers want to make at Christmas time. Such efforts are a waste of time as it is a pointless debate and battle.   The Christian must remember that there were no festivals and holy days established by Christ or His disciples when they were alive on this planet. That is not the focus of Christianity nor should it be the focus of Christians today. The only reason modern believers celebrate such festivities is because the Roman catholic church ‘christianized’ many of the pagan celebrations in the hopes of attracting unbelievers to the fold.   Christmas was no exception as many civilizations had their versions for basically celebrating the winter season. These celebrations varied in content and length but at no time did they ever hint at celebrating anything spiritual or related to God. It was another attempt to circumvent what God had said to do and resort to man’s thinking as to how to win people to Jesus. For the Christian it should not matter that the unsaved want their holidays back sans reference to anything spiritual.   The Christian faith does not require festivals to exist nor does it need such celebrations to draw people’s attention to their faith. They have Christ and all they have to do is live the life they say they believe and they will reap far more converts than any special day of the year. Yet this man’s action is typical of belief that is not grounded in the teachings of the Bible but in the practice of the culture.   At no time was permission given to create such holy days for God. God has set aside the Sabbath but Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection was not added to the list of days to be observed in a fashion that reflects heathen mentality. It does not really matter if the un-churched want their holidays back, for the original ownership belongs to them and not the church. Why would God want His ways celebrated in a fashion that has its roots in evil? That is not the way God works but it is the way man works as they seek to hold on to those things of the world that brought pleasure to their lives, even if for a short time.   In terms of Christianity there is no damage to the faith if someone says happy holidays instead of merry Christmas. Since no special day was set aside to celebrate Christ’s birth Christianity is not threatened by such endeavors. Believers look to Christ and not the day and their hope is in the person of the son of God and not in the hope of a few words that are or are not spoken at a given time of the year. It is not the duty of the Christmas to bring peoples attention to Christ.   Rather it is the responsibility of the believer and such responsibility is not limited to one month of the year but must be lived all the time, 12 months, 7days a week 24 hours a day. The Christian is expected to live the life they exhibit at the holiday season all the time. Their thoughts and actions are to be on their fellow man and not what they can gain for themselves no matter the time of the year.   It is a sad thing to witness when Christians get all upset over the loss of practices that have no origin in the Bible and then fail to root themselves in the direction of the author of scriptures. Christmas is not a Christian festival but it has been usurped by those who look to gain souls through means not of God. So what does it matter if the unsaved wish to change some of the words at one time of the year? Does Christianity suffer?   Not at all, as those who say they believe have a higher purpose than fighting for a few words to be spoken. Christians have the will of God to obey which is to live a life that is reflecting of God Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. One of the saddest statistics of this time of year is the rise in suicides. The Christmas season may be a time of joy for many but for others it is a time of sadness, depression and the ultimate decision of ending their life. Yet where are the Christians?   They are distracted by a silly notion that certain words need to be included in everyone’s speech whether they believe in Christ or not. It is utterly absurd to allow oneself to be drawn into a useless battle that deflects the attention of the believer away from the real work that needs to be done, towards a fight that has little or no impact on the unbeliever except to raise more stumbling blocks. While people are suffering at this time of year, the Christian is nowhere to be found. Does the world need the believer to be celebrating festivals? No, it doesn’t.   It does need them to be doing the will of God and seeking out those who are alone, desperate, in pain and so on and providing for their needs. Even if the believer does not evangelize at that moment, their work will go a long ways in reaching others for Christ, because they took the time to show the love of God and did not allow themselves to be caught up in trivial matters.   There are reasons why Christianity does not need festivals or to celebrate special days and one such is that they need to be doing what Christ did when He was here on earth, the will of God. In the hustle and bustle of the secular holidays, people are forgotten and it is up to the believer to follow God’s direction and to find those who are ignored and minister to them. No amount of celebrating can match the euphoria one receives when they have successfully followed God’s leading.   The Christmas season is not about words, it is about people and that is a duty that extends far beyond the 25th of December or the ‘Christmas season’. It is a heart attitude that comes from having the love of Christ for His creation. People will always be forgotten by the secular world or they will be ignored because they are not rich enough, not good enough or do not have the right skin color. This error needs to be corrected by the believer for they need to show that what they believe is different than what the world has to offer. Such an example cannot be done if the Christian is focused on trivial matters such as which words need to be spoken on which occasion.   The Christian faith is not about observing holy days, celebrating festivals or even marking special events in Christian history. It is about living the life as God directs and filling the cracks so none are lost. This Christmas look for that someone who needs the personal involvement and not just in words.