A Christmas Carol

Today, I started reading Dicken's A Christmas Carol to the kids. We watched the Disney version with Jim Carrey a few nights ago and although when I first saw it, I almost fell asleep in the theatre...I remember thinking that this was probably the version most like the book that I've ever seen. But watching it the other night, I think I was struck for the first time what an indictment the story is to those who are well off...yet ignore the impoverished all around them. There's a scene with several ghosts that really drives home this message.

Then this morning, I was looking for some "Christmasy" things to do for school. I found some websites for home schooling references regarding A Christmas Carol and there was a quote from the book that hit me right where we're living. Because of our family's emphasis on learning to serve others...especially the widow, the orphan and the deeply impoverished (all common themes of Dicken's works), I knew A Christmas Carol needed to be our "Christmas school" for this year.

Here's the quote that helped me make up my mind: "(Christmas-time is) the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys." (Fred, Scrooge's nephew)

Hmmm?? We're all fellow passengers to the grave and those "below" us are not another race of creatures bound on a different journey.

What if we lived every day like this? Not just at Christmas. I'm not even sure that we in America could even honestly say that our Christmas-time giving is the same as it used to be...could we? I noticed the Salvation Army bell ringers out earlier than usual. Is that because of greediness or because they know their giving is down and they needed to get a jump start with people thinking about giving their leftovers...their change? One friend posted on Facebook that one bell ringer she spoke to said people had even been making nasty comments because they were out there early.

The other thing that comes to mind is our shopping. Is what we're buying empowering people to become independent and sustainable...or is it enslaving and degrading them through severely inadequate wages and a loan/wage form of payment that keeps them enslaved to their job? In other words, is our Christmas spending creating "peace on Earth and goodwill toward men" or is it sustaining sweatshops and slavery?

Am I perfect at this? Absolutely not! But God is changing my heart and opening my eyes how I can be more responsible. Buying Fair Trade items is always an easy place to start. And this fall I was introduced to an organization called Stop Traffick Fashion. They sell items from companies that help free women from trafficking and bondage to slavery and/or prostitution. Buying from a group like this helps my gift have a dual purpose...something for the recipient and help to a woman half a world away. This is just one organization, there are many more out there and with a little bit of extra effort  and usually not that much more expense, you could make a difference in the lives of the deeply impoverished.

I concede that I'm not 100% aware of the destination of every penny I spend. And we still do our fair share of wasting...but it's a start. And if we would all just start supporting local businesses, avoiding retailers or labels or products that are known for degrading practices or sub-standard wages, maybe one day Tiny Tim's words would ring true..."God bless us...everyone!"

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