What we can learn this Christmas from the bird that never settled.
The mighty monosyllable, “No.” is not easily mastered. Never does our generosity become more evident than the Christmas season, and for some of us, the root of all of our troubles during the Christmas season lies in our inability to say, “No.”
Here are five suggestions to help you master the word “No.” this Christmas season:
1. The month of December is replete with open arms of invitation. Will you join us at this function? Are you free for dinner? Will you help those in need? At first sight, nothing but good can come of these. Perhaps we feel it is our duty to show ourselves friendly. Perhaps we feel finally popular. If your answers to these invitations are in any way dictated by a need to meet expectations or to put up a front so that others will love and accept you, then you will attend to everyone’s wishes to the impoverishment of your own soul. Read Ephesians 1-3 and be reminded of the blessings you have in Christ and know that you possess intrinsic value.
2. If you are not careful, a crisis will encroach upon you suddenly, as crises almost always do. Like a pack of dogs that rush all at once upon the baffled deer, 20 separate circumstances will conspire to simultaneously convince you that you are managing life unwisely. It is during these times that you must remain poised and patient. Don’t be too quick to answer every need.
3. Wake up early and spend long mornings every week reading. I know of nothing that can better prepare you for a long and arduous day than to bathe your mind in the Word of God, followed by a good story to engage your imagination. Then in the evenings, spend time talking over coffee or around a fire with friends and family. If you have elderly relatives, take time to listen again to their stories and memories.
4. The dog that follows everybody is no good to anybody! You must be selective with who and what will receive your time, attention, and affection. The Bible says, “Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place you see.” You can widen a river until it so broad and so shallow that it becomes incapable of navigation. As a general rule of thumb, it is far better to be narrow and deep. Make an intentional decision to bless abundantly a few people this Christmas, and then commit that decision to God and ask Him to help you keep it.
5. Your significant other will think that if it is your duty to attend to so much during the Christmas season and so not feel obliged to complain. But they may feel very lonely when you are always dashing out the door. When troubles attend them, they will feel as if you are far too busy to bother you with their needs. And when they see other men playing with their children in the snow, their heart will ache for theirs.
If we are not careful we can become like that lighthouse attendant who gave to the poor in the cabins around him the oil of the mighty lanterns that should have been lighting the seas. He had been giving the oil to the poor when he should have been using it in the lighthouse with whose care he was charged.
This Christmas, I encourage you to not become like the Huma, the bird that never stayed still, but was always in flight.
