All the riches of the kings end up in wills

So Christmas has always been a huge deal for me in every way, shape, and form. I love everything about the holiday. There's the obvious joy as a Christian in celebrating the birth of Jesus and pondering the infinite mystery of God becoming man. Then there are the little things about this time of year that also bring joy to my heart: seeing all the decorations at the malls, baking and decorating gingerbread men, my Dad's once-a-year Christmas breakfast casserole, iceskating, and scouting out which houses have the best light display are among the few.

I must admit though, however shallow it sounds, that a large part (if not the main part) of Christmas for me throughout most of my life has been about presents. My younger brother and I had a tradition of coming down the stairs with our eyes closed, in order to maximize the surprise of Santa's gifts that awaited us under our mantel. And I'll be honest, I didn't stop wondering what Santa was going to bring me each year until I was in sixth grade. Yes, that's right, I believed in Santa until I was 12 years old (laugh it up!). But even after the reality of Santa was exposed, I still eagerly anticipated what I would receive each year under our mantel.

It wasn't until my senior year in high school that pangs of guilt for my materialism started to happen. I don't really remember what the catalyst was, but it was at this point that I realized that my expectation of gifts was at times outweighing the true meaning of the holiday. I realized that if I didn't get what I thought I needed, I would be disappointed. Shameful to admit, but true.

Several years later, I feel that I have gotten better fighting the always present battle of materialism and über-consumerism during the Christmas season. I have found that truly the best gift of all is just spending time with family and friends during the holidays. However, the monster of greed does still rear its ugly head, showing me all the cute sweaters or DVD box sets or other things I "need".

And now I come to why I even decided to write about this subject in the first place. I was faced with an interesting question last week when I heard of the website Buy Nothing Christmas from a friend. The basic concept of the site is to rebel against our consumer society and spend nothing on Christmas gifts in order to direct ourselves to a larger, spiritual perspective. My immediate thought was "I can't do that! I like buying gifts and I like getting gifts!" And then I started thinking about why.....why is it so hard for me to break free from this feeling of wanting to have more when I already have enough? Why can't I just comprehend the simple words of Jesus:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Unfortuantely, this post doesn't have a neat little ending, but rather an open-ended one, because it is still something I am wrestling with. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts......