Bah Humbug! Battling Your Inner Scrooge
By Joe Micon, LUM Executive Director
I have an inner Scrooge. There, I said it.
Perhaps over the years I have grown a little cynical about Christmas. Too much to do. Not enough time to get it done. Can’t come up with another good gift idea. Don’t enjoy going to the mall. Hate hauling all the decorations and lights up from the basement just to haul them back down again. Bah humbug!
But then of course there is the other story of Christmas that keeps my inner Scrooge in check.
When Mary finds out she is pregnant with Jesus, she sings a song – a very interesting song:
He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants.
(Luke 1:52-55)
If Santa were to read this, he would probably faint. Send the rich away empty? Luke’s message is so far afield from what Christmas has become in our culture, but his message is clear: God loves the poor. He stands among them, and if we are to celebrate the birth of His Son with any sense of conscience, we must stand with them too.
One way to become more in tune with the other story of Christmas, one way to stand more faithfully among the poor, is by making a generous Christmas Season gift to the Lafayette Urban Ministry. LUM is an organization of 44 local churches that helps at-risk children and impoverished families to build brighter futures.
I hope you will join me in making a Christmas Season gift to the Lafayette Urban Ministry. Your gift of $50, $100, $250, $500, or $1,000 will be used now and throughout the coming year to support LUM’s many important programs of service and self-help.
Giving to LUM at Christmas helps me to connect with the other story of Christmas—the story of a Savior born in a manger. It places Christmas back where it belongs—in humble places, like a homeless shelter, food pantry, or a youth program that lifts up and educates the young. Giving to LUM suppresses my inner Scrooge.
Thank you for your generous support of the work of the Lafayette Urban Ministry.
Please accept my sincere wish for a joyous Christmas and a Happy New Year!