A lady from one of my craft groups just put a picture up of her living room. She had 4 Christmas trees decorating her living room and asked people if they thought it was too much.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know the woman and she seems very nice, I am sure she was just showing her decorating skills.

However, I looked at that and immediately the thought came to my mind, “It definitely is too much! Have you seen the pictures online and on television of the people that have lost everything in Paradise California?”

We are basically greedy people. Self-centered and uncaring. This might not be the year to brag about your decorations and four Christmas trees.

Jeremiah 10:1-5 says the following, “Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the LORD: Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are futile; for one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it will not topple. They are upright, like a palm tree, and they cannot speak; they must be carried, because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, nor can they do any good.”

The first time I read this I assumed it was about Christmas trees. Further reading and study revealed that it was about carving idols to worship. Still, as beautiful as they are, they really aren’t what Christmas is all about.

Losing everything is very traumatic. The mind cannot deal with it and people often feel numb. We must learn compassion because any of us could be next.

Father, wake us up to our greed and lack of compassion. Give us a heart of love and a way to help others. Amen.

In His Unconditional Love,

Cathie