Middle Ground?

Well the Christmas season is finally upon us after a long year, and to kick it off I tuned in to the Christmas station on the radio. I listened to some of my personal favorites, but one thing that shocked me is the lack of “religious” Christmas carols. One thing I’ve wondered it where the middle ground is, I mean I always hear two sides to Christmas, side A says “It is a religious Holiday, and the “secular” carols and movies are bad” and side B says “C’mon Man! Have a little fun, don’t be so stiff.” I think I have a reasonable approach to my dilemma. In 1Corinthians: 8, Paul deals with a pretty big issue in the Church. At the time it was common for the Greeks to sell meat sacrificed to idols. Some Christians said “Ha! Those idols are fake, what does it matter to me whether or not I eat this meat?” Some others said “Gosh, I can’t eat this, it is de-sanctified!” Paul replies that idols mean nothing; God is Lord over all, so in the end it doesn’t really matter. Now what does this have to do with Christmas? Paul then adds, “But not everyone knows this”. “Some people are still accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and their conscience is weak, it is defiled.” Paul then ends with “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” Basically what Paul says can be applied to my situation. Listening to the “secular” carols/movies is perfectly fine, but the catch here is that it is only okay if my heart is set on God and God alone. If I am weak, and if these songs/movies distract me then they come between me and God, but if I am strong and I can toss them to the side when it comes to my focus on Jesus then they are perfectly fine. Anything that comes between us and God while on its own may be a good thing, turns into a bad thing, even something as simple as a song or movie. While it is fun to watch all the Christmas movies that are on, let us not forget the true gift of the season, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.