A new Christmas. Preaching to the uninterested?

Christmas is about drinking, eating, getting, yes?
Well, yes, of course. It's the time to shed your inhibitions and indulge in the most outrageously disgraceful behaviour. You know, the type of behaviour which gets you a guilty conscience, a bad head, a black eye and an unmentionable disease.
It's fun. Yes, it probably is........ From what I remember of my youth, it does indeed seem like fun: the girls, the parties, the gifts, the overeating, drinking.... Maybe it's even a necessary learning experience. That's a great excuse anyway; you may quote me, if you wish.


I remember a time when I thought Santa Clause was real.
I remember thinking life was long, and there was time to kill today, (respect to Pink Floyd).
I remember a time when I thought that a baby called "Jesus" and a man who was crucified were two people.
I remember thinking that this Jesus fellow was a bit soft, and not much of a hero, let alone a God.
I, (crucially), remember thinking that religion and "thinking correctly" were hand-in-hand disciplines, then waking up.

I also remember times when I realised what an ignorant, opinionated prat I used to be, ( and still can be), without Him.
Don't follow this route. It's unnecessarily unpleasant for the middle 30 years.

This Christmas, let's consider who we are, what we already have and what we really value, what we need, and not what we want. Let's consider that maybe God is in fact quite real, and that we've been misled in almost everything.