Unshackled Moments ~ December 20, 2017 ~ Bad Boys Get A Great Gift

Monday afternoon Leah and I spent a few hours with my mother watching A Christmas Story Live, which Mom recorded for us since we couldn't watch it when it aired Sunday evening. The musical had it's moments, but isn't the best Christmas musical in my opinion. Not that this is a review. It did remind me of something that I have seen a lot of though. I watch a lot of Christmas movies. That's close to all I watch from Thanksgiving to the big day, although a huge exception must be made for December releases of Star Wars.

Anyway, there is a common theme in most Christmas movies. It's not the birth of Jesus. It goes right along with the song Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, and it's basically you better be good. A Christmas Story Live has plenty of lines that reflect the belief of many, especially children, that Christmas is all about merit. For example, in the middle of the song, A Sticky Situation, adult Ralph, played by Matthew Broderick, says, The horns of a dilemma. Good little boys who went to class on time always got the best presents, but bad little boys who got caught triple dog daring their friends to stick their tongues to a flag pole, well.... And later in the song the children sing, well, you can't confess a thing or you'll get busted, and if you're caught they'll cart you off to county jail. And once you're locked away, you'll find out on Christmas Day that Santa doesn't read a convicted felon's mail.

That line made me laugh, but it's sad too. It is sad that we have so messed up the message of Christmas to the point that many truly believe it's about getting good things for being good and getting nothing or bad things for falling short. We've all slipped and fallen into the ditch as we trudged through the darkness of life. Not all of us have fallen into a ditch with actual bars, but some of us have. Still, even the best of us have stumbled and fallen. If Christmas is all about merit, then it is far more frightening than anything that Halloween has to offer,

We're all selfish and self centered, and we all make mistakes while seeking to provide what we are born missing. Some cause more damage than others, make far more destructive choices and mistakes, but we all make them. And while we are all selfish at times and to some extent, some of us are, or were, ruled by selfishness. That is one of the worst aspects of the bondage of addiction, I believe, that you can think of little other than self, and yet, think so little of yourself. The truth is that you can not love God and love others while living for yourself first and foremost.

The greatest deception in the history of humanity is that looking out for yourself first, taking care of yourself above all else and getting what you want, when you want it, the way you want it, will bring joy. Everyone I have ever met who pursued their own comfort and pleasure above the concern for anyone and everyone else, including myself, who lived that way for far too long, have existed in a tormented life of long stretches of misery broken up by flashes of temporary relief that did little more than tease us with the carrot we could never catch.

If you live like that, it doesn't take long before the wounded and the weary begin to pile up around you. And the worst possible news one could get, other than things will never change or get netter, is that life and love are about merit. Kill me now, before I make it even worse. But the good news is that this popular Christmas message is a lie, a distraction from the truth that can end our misery and give us a life worth living. The true message of Christmas is a joyful one, not because it promises if you're good you'll get lots of goodies.

Here is the source of my joy, joy that isn't hampered by circumstances and the mess I've made of life. You don't have to be good enough! You don't even have to be a little good! The greatest gift imaginable is yours, if you want it. It's already been unwrapped and hung on a tree just for you. The Big Guy, not Santa but Daddy, loves you as you are, not as you should be. He sent His Son, wrapped the Word in flesh to take the consequences of our mess in our place. Jesus was born to set us free from judgment and the scale of justice and the bondage we sold ourselves into trying to free ourselves. And Daddy loves us enough not to leave us the broken misfits we are, so He sent the Holy Spirit to make His home within those who accept this free and great gift and to transform us into the best us we can be, the people we were meant to be, reflections of God Himself, full of love, peace, and yes, joy.

This site is free. If this blessed, helped and or informed you, the best thing you can do is pass it on via the social buttons below. And please subscribe or follow Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments, the weekly Unshackled Echo and or listens to the Audio Messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them on social media, commented on the blog or replied to an email subscription. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions and sermons to more people by sharing this? Hitting the share button or forwarding this to a friend will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.