“There are two things, Lord, I want you to do for me before I die: Make me absolutely honest and don’t let me be too poor or too rich. Give me just what I need. If I have too much to eat, I might forget about you; if I don’t have enough, I might steal and disgrace your name.” – Proverbs 30:7-9 Contemporary English Version
In Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the girl searches for things that are “just right,” neither too hot nor too cold, neither too hard nor too soft. Augur the son of Jakeh, the writer of Proverbs 30, makes a similar request of God. He doesn’t want to be too rich or too poor, both might draw him away from God. He wants to have his needs met without having excess. He wants to be “just right.”
The Christmas season is a time when we are tempted to go to extremes. In December we may frantically race around trying to take in every concert, visit every relative, hit every craft sale, host extravagant feasts, and buy mountains of presents. Or we may go to the other extreme. Exhausted and overwhelmed we might play the Scrooge and reject it all, holing up in our homes and waiting for the whole fuss to be over.
Goldilocks and Augur and I would suggest a middle approach. Find an amount of holiday activities that are just right for you. Too many Christmas activities and we can forget about Christ in the busyness. Too few Christmas activities and we can miss out on the joy and blessings God intends for us.
And speaking of blessings, if you want to take in an event that is “just right”, join us on Friday evening December 6th at 7:00 pm for a special Advent service led by Craig Wasner and friends. It’s just the right mix of poetry, scripture, and music to keep our hearts and minds focused on Jesus this season.
A holy and happy Advent to you,
Pastor Mark