Tomorrow, the Christian world commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ: the journey which has been characterized by a stressful preparation.
With so much planned and in the face of limited resources, which is what economics is about anyway, we have been saddled with the choice of what to give prominence on the scale of preference.
We are so obsessed with such worldly passions that we tend to relegate the spiritual aspect of the commemoration to the background.
The clergy have sought to turn our attention to the spiritual dimension of the commemoration so that we do not veer from its substance; after all Jesus who came on a mission to shepherd us onto the path of righteousness is at the centre of it all.
His words, when he embarked upon his ministry until the end, have been centered on living lives bereft of iniquities and being our neighbour’s keepers.
Our Maker, the Almighty, sent Jesus Christ to deliver mankind from the evil which engulfed the world and still has. It is only proper therefore that even as we make merry about the coming of the Messiah, Emmanuel, to come and deliver us onto the righteous path, we reflect upon how far we have gone with our covenant with our Maker.
What has been the relationship between us and our neighbours and even members of our extended families? Have we put God at the centre of everything and being mindful as not to deviate from the path of righteousness? It is important that we allow reflection to take a centre stage of our activities on Christmas day so that the over-indulgence which sometimes consumes many on such an auspicious day is avoided.
Making merry in moderation is what would stand us apart from the reckless. Let us share with those who on this day are unable to partake in the merry which God has made possible for us.
Our celebration of Christ’s birth when others watch in the pain of being unable to join us is not the ways of God. Making others, the have-nots, happy on such a day would uplift us spiritually: the dividends of which is beyond the imagination of we mortals.
The quantity of wasted food on a day like tomorrow is regrettable especially when there are many who are unable to afford the smallest fraction of what we are wasting.
The celebration of Xmas would be meaningless when it is devoid of Godliness. The irresponsible consumption of alcoholic beverages to the extent that those engaged in the frivolity lose their minds through inebriation should never be associated with Christmas. Those who do are only celebrating irresponsibility and not the birth of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
We wish our numerous readers and compatriots at large a Merry Xmas free of eventualities.
Motorists should remember that over-speeding, drunk-driving and reckless overtaking are dangerous and should be avoided by all means so Xmas would be devoid of carnage on our highways.