Season of Excess

It was magical, the first day of advent, sitting in my home fully decorated for Christmas, with no pressing tasks scheduled for the day. The dogs however disagreed. If there were no pressing tasks, then dinner should be an hour earlier, and should be more than just the usual boring fare. They began lobbying for supper around 3:30, just as I settled down with a cup of tea in front of my elegant christmas tree shimmery in white lights and crystal icicles.

Finally, a few minutes later, I gave up trying to hold them off and poured their kibble into their bowls. They both just stood there, looking at me, as if to say, "Is this all?" And then as I pulled out a little sustenance for myself in the form of blueberry pie with whipped cream topping, they began their food strike in earnest. They would not eat dry dog food while I feasted on blueberry pie. With a sigh, I poured some chicken broth on their food. Grudgingly, they ate, eyeing me and my pie.

In this season of excess, it is easy to see they are not alone in their greed. We all want more and more. Few of us are truly satisfied with what we have, and I don't mean just our dinner choices. I would venture most of us complain about our health, our home, our clothes, our looks, our hair color, our cars, our toys, our smart phones, our friends, our family, our church, our nation, our world....

The list goes on and on. My dogs reminded me how we are always at some level of discontent. Solomon wrote about this extensively in Ecclesiastes. We never have enough. The more we have, it seems the more we long to have. Every Christmas, I hate the excess and vow not to indulge in it. But then, what about my precious children? I know they are nearly grown but how can I scale back on gifts when they will not always be near, or I will not always be here? Anyway, there is always a seemingly good reason for "chicken broth on the food"....always a good rationale for buying one more thing....and I think we are buried alive, losing the contentment of watching lights on a Christmas tree in the waning day while sipping tea and reading God's word.

The strangest part of it all is this holiday of excess celebrates such a simple, basic desire of the soul of mankind. Jesus pares everything we need down to the minimum -- God and God alone. Surprisingly, that one minimum also gives us the maximum: "I find my rest in God alone. He is the One who saves me." (Psalm 62:1 ESV)

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It is better to be happy with what you have than to always want more and more. Always wanting more and more is useless. It is like trying to catch the wind. (Ecclesiastes 6:9 ERV)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6 NKJV)





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