The Holidays are here and beneath them is this underlying tension we all have about what we are going to do, how we are going to decorate our house, who will we celebrate with, what will the family dinner be like, should we discuss politics, should we not invite certain people, what church or synagogue will we go to etc….etc….etc.   These things we all find so important because each says something about what we believe; do we have a tree or nativity or both, do we have a Menorah and Santa Claus?  What Church do I go to on Christmas Sunday?  What if it is too liberal or too conservative?  How can I express my views on gay marriage during Christmas dinner if my Uncle starts in again?  There are millions of other issues that we all get caught up in but what it comes down to is  we are very very concerned about What We Believe and What the Other-side Believes.  The other-side is anyone who disagrees with us.   We are very big on “belief” in our country.  Our televisions are filled with people arguing over what they believe as opposed to what someone else believes.  Each person screaming how their beliefs are better, more patriotic, more spiritual, more intelligent, more honorable…etc.  Do you know what I think of that?  Who gives a shit.    The thing is I have always seen this as a trap.  Once you start equating symbols as reflecting what you believe you start judging others by theirs or lack of.   I don’t care about your tree, Menorah, gifts, super Nativity or lack of all mentioned what I care about is your actions.  Our actions are what have been lost these days.  We are all so concerned with who is on our side or what article I can use to discredit the other that we have lost sight of what our beliefs USED to mean.  It used to mean something when you called yourself a Christian.  It meant you were trying….trying….to follow the lessons and life of Christ.  Now it means having a 40,000 watt nativity scene on your lawn.  You see I don’t care what you call yourself, I don’t care what you say you believe, I only care about What.  You.  Do.  If you are a person of faith….any faith….do your actions point to the one you proclaim to “believe” in or follow?

In an essay by Sister Helen Prejean her opening line  is “I watch what I do to see what I believe.”  What a beautiful way to live your life but also what a great way to keep yourself honest in life.   I have met “holy people” who made my skin crawl and so called “godless” who offered up their time, labor, home and heart without a thought.    Given the choice between the bar and the church in my life I have always chosen the bar because I felt people were more honest about who they were there.

We don’t watch what we do enough in life, we get too caught up in what we believe.  What would happen if people really paid attention to see if their actions really matched up with “love they neighbor as thy self”?  What about loving your enemy?  Not easy is it but that is why Grace is so radical, that is why the message of Jesus was so radical, that is why the message of any spiritual teacher like Rumi or Buddha or Lao Tzu because they spoke of a WAY of living….the spoke of the WAY.  They didn’t give a list of “beliefs” and say “here believe all of this and your in,” they spoke of ways of living, ways of opening your heart, ways of forgiving,  ways of loving kindness.

So here is my Christmas, holiday,  Hanukkah, festivus suggestion.  Pay less attention to your beliefs this season, pay more attention to your actions and see what that tells you about your beliefs.  Did you spend massive amounts of money on too many gifts?  Were you consumed with what is the latest and greatest new gadget and how could you get it?  Did you get pissed off if someone said Happy Holiday instead of Merry Christmas?  Did you help the less fortunate?  Where you kind even when it was hard to be kind?  Were you compassionate to even those who don’t believe as you do?   Did you give of yourself, your time or money quietly and anonymously without need of recognition? How about you and I proclaim through our actions what we are all about, what our families are about, and what our God is all about.    Let your actions point the way to what you believe.  We change nothing by loudly proclaiming our “beliefs”, we change everything….including our own hearts and the hearts of strangers by what we do.

Posted by Trent on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 4:08 pm.