Is Bigger Better? – Hope for the Holidaze
In my family, bigger was ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS better. More was better than less.
When it came to eating, we ALWAYS dug through the pile, searching for the biggest and heaviest specimens. Whether it was fried chicken, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, steamed crabs or shrimp, we clawed our way through the food. We even handled it, feeling its weight, looking it over to find the biggest and best. Like famished explorers back from the wilds, we scrounged for the largest, the biggest.
Full Disclosure - I feel compelled to be 100% truthful when it comes to wanting the biggest. I NEVER looked for or grabbed the largest serving of:
Brussels Sprouts
Beef liver
Oysters: either those from the sea or the Rocky Mountain variety
Sauerbraten
Although we NEVER paid the premium price for the largest, we instinctively craved the bigger ones.
And with Christmas arriving earlier than ever before, it is also arriving BIGGER than ever. There is more of everything. And if there is not more, then something must be wrong.
It’s like Dudley’s birthday in the first Harry Potter movie (1).
Dudley: (looking over his birthday presents) “How many are there?”:
Vernon: (Father) “36, counted them myself.”
Dudley: (now yelling) “36? But last year, last year I had 37!”
Vernon: (defensive) “Well, some of these are quite a bit bigger than last year.
Dudley: “I don’t care how big they are”
Petunia (Mother, moving in between Dudley and Vernon) “This is what we’re going to do. When we go out, we’re going to buy you two new presents. How’s that pumpkin?”
So, how’s your “holidaze” shaping up? Looking for a bigger experience? A bigger celebration? Here are some questions to help you think it through.
Do you have a budget?
Do you plan to spend more, less, or about the same?
How many people are you giving presents to? More, Less, About the same?
Are you starting earlier out of supply chain fears?
Do you plan to give more homemade presents this year?
Do you plan to go into debt for your holiday spending?
On that first Christmas morning, the King of the universe arrived with no gift other than himself.
He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.
1 Timothy 2:6, NLT
That sounds like the right formula. He first gave himself. He gave his life for us.
Now that’s a bigger Christmas present to remember.