The God of Great Excess

"The Christmas tree, twinkling with lights, had a mountain

of gifts piled up beneath it, like offerings to the great god of excess."

Tess Gerritsen

Young parents were discussing ways this year  to minimize Santa Claus and all of his gifts.  Their intention was not to exclude Old Kris Kringle, but to have things in better proportion.  An attempt could be made to  create more sacred moments in life by bringing excess to the poor and underprivileged.   

In the midst of the conversation, one mother said, "I feel like I am deliberately lying to my child and that doesn't feel good and I wonder how it will feel when I have to admit to him that I have been deliberately lying for years.  As you can imagine, one needs to question what examples we are setting and how we are building trust.

It seems Christmas begins small but grows with the family.  Family members branch out and create a bigger Christmas than they had ever had.  As wealth spreads, grand parents cannot necessarily afford the prices of expected gifts.  Where lies our focus? What is our true intention?  Which values are we reflecting?   How many offerings are we making to the great god of excess?