Family vs. Jesus

Okay, so the title of this post is a little out there, but hey, it got your attention, didn't it?

I just read my parents' annual Christmas letter, and it contained the following line: "We enjoy our family, but we worship Jesus." What a great reminder!

It is December 9th, and the stores, music, decor, and everything (it seems - except the weather, which is oddly warm) is telling me it is Christmastime. In general, people divide the Christmas season into two categories: material holiday ("worldly Christmas") vs. happy traditions with your family ("good Christian Christmas"). Jesus would be included in the latter, since he is a traditional part of Christmas.

I hear plenty of people saying that we need to remember the real reason for the season and how Christmas should be about Jesus, not presents. What I also hear is a lot about family. But is Christmas about family? Isn't it supposed to be about Jesus? But doesn't Jesus want us to be with our families and love them? Families are good, right?

I know some families who don't celebrate with any/many presents. They have a big fun day together as a family, but don't give any (or many) presents. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they are worshiping Jesus any more than those who have ceiling-high piles of stuff that takes them all day to open. Both situations could be about people having a really great day with their families as they celebrate Christmas, one is just a less-expensive version. Is either situation more or less about Jesus? Not necessarily.

This isn't a blog post with an answer, so you can read the above questions and think about them and draw whatever conclusion you wish. Personally, I think celebrations are a lot more fun with other people. The people with whom I usually choose to celebrate things (such as Jesus' birthday) are my family. If you want to dig back into history, God commanded the Israelites to celebrate Passover and other big holidays with their families (and friends and neighbors at times, too). Small families were supposed to share their Passover lambs with others, so as to create a bigger group with which to celebrate.

So, let's enjoy being with our families as we worship Jesus, and let us not confuse the two!