Jesus Doesn't Need An XBox

Every Sunday morning as a child was the same. I would wake to an awesome breakfast that my mom had made for the family. After devouring the feast, I would take my heavy blanket that my grandmother had made by hand and curl up on the couch to catch a few more winks before church. My father would be sitting in his chair studying his sunday school lesson as The Old Time Gospel Hour would be tuned in on the tube. I was always into watching the service. The music leader had the most incredibly high tenor voice. It would give me goosebumps to hear him hit those atmospheric notes. I was also captivated by the little oval in the bottom corner of the screen, where a woman with her hair in a beehive style would sign to those who could not hear the music or the message. And then, it was showtime! The man himself would rise up and deliver some of the most fiery sermons one could hear. Of course the man was Jerry Falwell. The man who is single-handedly out to destroy the things that he loves so much.
Last night I was flipping around the "news" stations when I came across Rev. Falwell talking about how Christmas was being destroyed by the Democrats. After I pulled my tongue back in my mouth, I began to really try to understand what exactly he was talking about. His argument is one that some of the politically "religious" like to bring up each Christmas. They site examples of people being restricted from singing religious songs at school or communities that are banning nativity scenes on courthouse lawns. Although these things are surely happening, it's not because Christianity is under attack. It's because Christians have failed to do what Christians have been called to do.
The greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself...and guys like Rev. Falwell just don't get it. We are living in a world where everyone is out to screw the opposition. And Christians have fallen into that trap. Instead of loving our neighbors, we are deciding who's career we are going to ruin to get ahead and which country we are going to invade so our portfolios continue to grow. This is about as far from loving your neighbor as Christ could ever imagine.
And so I began to imagine just what would Christ think about all of this. Would Christ be beating down the doors of WalMart on "Black Friday" to grab the latest sales? Would He be all that interested in whether or not there was a nativity scene on the courthouse square? I bet the biggest rock in His sandal would be whether or not we are taking care of each other instead of trying to rip each other apart because of our political ideology or that my country has oil...or not.
So here's my advice to Christians that are all geeked up about not singing Silent Night at school or ready to firebomb their local Democratic Headquarters because the Nativity scene was taken down at City Hall. Love one another. Love your neighbor. Love your family. Christ doesn't need another XBox!