This article originally ran as part of Faith Lutheran Church's The Mosaic Messenger a Newsletter for their college ministry.
So what are you going to do this Christmas when you are at Target and someone wishes you “Happy Holidays”? Are you going to be offended that they did not say “Merry Christmas”? Are you going to make sure you respond with “Merry Christmas”?
Though I have not given a whole lot of thought to the subject, here are a few of the thoughts that have occurred to me. See what you think.
The corporate action taken to prevent employees from saying “Merry Christmas” strikes me as just a bit odd. The retail industry needs Christmas to break even for the year and yet they want to avoid any mention of the word. I don’t know if any other holiday is picking up the tab nearly as well as Christmas has.
On the other hand, Christmas is not about telling other religions how wrong they are. It is rather a celebration of our Savior’s birth. Yes, Jesus is the only Savior for all mankind and yes, other religions are fallen, but what kind of loving approach starts with screaming “Merry Christmas” to drown out other religious sentiments.
If I got to Target (Wal-Mart has opted not to ban Merry Christmas, but I am still not going there for other reasons) and someone working there wants to wish me a Happy Holiday, a Happy Kwanza, or Joyous Chanukah (not sure the correct greeting of the last two), that is fine by me. I am not offended by someone not agreeing with me. Frankly I expect that they won’t. That is reality in the world today, people disagree. We just have the choice to avoid being disagreeable.
Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. But he is not an excuse to be unkind. I am afraid that both sides on this debate are missing the mark. What do you think?