how things become distorted

st. nicholas was one who used his inheritance to assist the poor and needy. he was one who looked over the interests of himself and gave what he had to those who need it. today santa claus has come into many homes giving gifts of luxury to the already wealthy families. and by wealthy i mean approximately 95% of homes in the united states. we all own things we do not necessarily need or even want. this past november jenny and i went through and donated a lot of things to care and share; a community wide free thrift store that our church holds every year. and yet we still excess.

this year more then any other i wish i were like the kranks (movie--christmas at the kranks) who swore off christmas. they didnt want anybody to buy them gifts and vice versa. they were just going to skip the day all together. this past weekend i went to our church christmas party. it involved maybe 50 participants of the ever infamous game known as white elephant. what it should be is a time for people to come together and have community; which did happen. however what it ended up being was people swapping $5 useless gifts that will probably end up in care and share next year.

but this is what i have found out christmas has become the swapping of gifts with each other. i have a limit on how much i spend for each person whether they are family, a friend or a coworker. but i find that the person that i give a gift to usually ends up spending appoximately the same amount on me. usually on something i dont need or specifically want. what if we used all the money that we would have spent this christmas to act like saint nicholas and give it to a family that is in need. i know i do not need more crap in my house.

what started with good intentions of brightening up someones day has become a day of selfishness and desire. and if we do not get what we want we just box it up and take it back to the store the next day and exchange it for something else we do like. saint nick would be disapointed in all of us in how something out of generosity and love for the poor become so distorted.

oh and did i mention what i want for christmas. i would like a nintendo wii.