Last week Team Swap tackled the topic of Peace on Earth during the holiday season, (link to last weeks post - Peace ). This week we tackle the second part of the annual statement - Peace on Earth, and Good Will Toward Men.
Good will towards men, or women - no reason to be sexist here, is a high standard for most of us considering how most of us live our lives. Most of us have a few enemies. If we are really honest with ourselves, we must admit that we would love to see them fail, or at least be less then successful. We may not want anything serious to happen to them, but we “want them to get what they deserve”. Now that is definitely not the attitude of someone that wishes people “Good will toward men”.
Even if we do not dislike the person, most of us are uncaring toward them regardless. We seem to go around tolerating most people, hoping to stay out of their way, while they stay out of ours. We want no real ties to more then just a few people, and we care about even fewer then we claim too. If a situation is going to require much more then a passing moment of our time, or if we are not effected by the outcome, we do not want to be involved. We avoid giving advice, we avoid being accountable to a specific outcome, and we avoid being involved for fear of a future requirement of our time and resources. Honestly, our day to day lives do not really convey to many that we want them to do well. Our lives convey that we want to be left alone and we want to be uninvolved.
Most days a majority of humanity rushes around taking what they want, but claiming it is what they need. We do as we please, then we justify it in our mind, or even with our words, because we are good or nice people. We may even justify it because we are doing it for a good cause. At times some even go as far as to justify their selfish acts because the person they are hurting, or cheating is not a Christian. That is a terrible way to show the world that you care about them.
Our normal habits are just made more obvious during the holidays. During the holidays we find ourselves in stores with longer lines, backed up in traffic, stuck in parking lots, and short tempers are being displayed everywhere we look. Even the normally rational and kind may be tempted to cut line, cut off another car, and yell at a fellow shopper for taking their parking space or for taking the last one of the single gift that we went to the store to retrieve.
Sadly, it is virtually impossible to tell church people from non church people this time of year. In addition to our normal work, family, and social commitments, most of us add work Christmas parties, charity events, church plays or musicals, and outreach ministries (Christmas shoe boxes, working at a soup kitchens, angel trees, ringing bells for donations, caroling, etc) to our already packed lives. All of these activities combined do not lead us to more rest and reflection, but instead to more stress and disorder in our lives.
This is not the way God desire’s his people to live. Look at the manger scene, for those that live in some areas visit a local church to see one - as they are harder and harder to find each year, it was calm, quiet and peaceful. All was orderly and organized. God did not send His only son to earth in disarray. There was a plan, there was structure, and it was organized. No one was out of control, no one was rushing around. All was peaceful and calm.
That picture of the manager is so unlike what we see today. We really must ask ourselves why we have let the celebration of this peaceful, calming and orderly event become so stressful, tiring and disorderly. The answer is really quiet simple, though most of us do not want to admit it, we have lost the true spirit of Christmas. It has become more about presents, parties, events, and socials, then it has about the birth of the Holy Son of God to a virgin in a lowly stable in Palestine over 2,000 years ago.
Our theme this week is about good will to men, and the reasons we do not display much of this very thing this time of year. To me it seems this is because we have let the world’s, and it’s ways, and lifestyle replace our celebration of heaven rejoicing at the birth of our King. In our hearts we are more about the next gift, the next event, the next party and less about the victory and salvation that can be found in Christ.
I am not saying we should not celebrate the birth of our savior, nor that we should not exchange gifts, things like that and decisions about such things are between you and God. What I am saying is that we need to keep the REAL purpose of this season ahead of the monetary and selfish reasons that most of us celebrate this holiday.
God loves all humanity, He came to save us all, He wants none to parish, and He desires that all have eternal life. He does not just care about those that care about Him. Remember Christ died and paid for our sins while we were all still sinners and lost. Each person is special to God, none are worthy of being ignored, abused, neglected, or isolated. He is does not have to justify His actions because He is acting righteously. God’s desire for all is for them to have a life of value and importance.
Through out the year, but especially this time of year, the good will to men that we should really be sharing with others is the good will that flows from a vibrant and open relationship with God via Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. This is really the only good will that is important for a person to have.
If one is right with God their life will be full of joy and happiness. These traits of God, and a right relationship with Him, will flow into all the relationships in a persons life. This type of good will towards men is shown not just to friends and family, but to everyone the person meets. No longer does the world see a down, disappointed, stressed individual, but they are met by someone that is alive, happy, calm and ordered. Their lifestyle and actions are a mirror of God, and the lifestyle that a secure relationship with God brings.
Sure their will be some people that are difficult for us to love, difficult for us to respect, and difficult for us to honor, but that does not mean that we should give up trying. We are called to a higher standard, one that serves continually, not only when it is required too. Our lifestyle should be one where we stands in the gap for the oppressed, the widowed, the dying, the down trodden and the depressed. We are suppose to be the light of the world, and that is how God expects us to be in the lives of others. We should be bright points of hope, happiness and encouragement, not dark clouds of disappoint, sadness and discourage. A pattern of joy and contentment should follow our daily interactions, and relationships.
In the next few weeks, and throughout the next year, try to focus on bringing the good will of Christ to all the men, women, boys, and girls that you meet. No longer should people leave meetings and encounters with you disappointed and down. They should be uplifted, encouraged, and full of hope, but that hope should not spring from our lives, but from our hope in eternal life in heaven. The credit for the glory of our lives should be given to God, and only He should be praised.
God’s desire for you is to be a bearer of good will in the world. You are His hands, and His feet, but also realize that you should have a mouth that speaks for Him, eyes that look for His work and focus on completing it, and ears that listening to find where you can be helpful in His world.
Joy to the world, peace on earth, and good will towards men all begin at the throne of God in Heaven. Rejoice and be glad in Him, because to us a child is born, and He is the light and hope of the world.
