Credit cards and Christmas are nearly as inseparable as Santa Clause and reindeer or Tiny and Tim. It has become tradition to overspend and bury ourselves in credit card debt in order to “get into the spirit of Christmas.”

Yet, when we cannot pay off those bills in January – and perhaps not in February, March, April, or May either - that isn’t a gift, but self-abuse. So maybe it’s time to adopt a new tradition as suggested by AdventConspiracy.Org.

Here’s a great video that addresses the issue and proposes a different way to celebrate this season in a profound way. Imagine celebrating Christmas by creating positive change and without going into debt. The Advent Conspiracy video has had over seven hundred thousand views, and with good reason. So enjoy!

Saddling yourself with debt in the name of love is misguided. You wind up devoting hours of your life working just to earn money to pay interest on the debt, and that is not kindness.

No matter how much you love giving to others, it is not kind to impose indebtedness upon yourself. Worry over debt takes the flavor out of day-to-day living and the stress of entrenched debt can even shorten your life.

Should you have plenty of money to spend on friends and family and be able to help impoverished strangers as well, then you are truly blessed. By all means, lavish everyone with gifts should it make your heart sing to do so. I would never ask you to be a Scrooge or go against the desires of your heart, so long as you are not giving to others while taking what you don’t have from yourself.

However, should gift-giving become a worry-filled drudgery, or be a momentary enjoyment that comes at the cost of ongoing debt, please reconsider this: your life is what Jesus came to save. Don’t throw it away. You count, too. So be kind to yourself.

Your friends and family love you for who you are, not for how much you go into debt for them. And if they don’t, then indebting yourself for them will never win their love anyway.

In that case it is even more important to love yourself and take care of yourself.

I wish I could help you feel how much God loves you. He has no judgment. He looks at you and sees perfection. He understands everything.

Just try to get in touch with that. You won’t need to buy or get anything material for Christmas once you brush up against that love. You will know you have it all.

Then, in the fullness of your being, perhaps you can donate a modest amount toward providing all people with fresh drinking water, the cause championed by AdventConspiracy.Org.

Have a wonderful Christmas and the happiest of holiday seasons.

From my heart to yours,
~ Clyo

www.prayerforce.org

Lifting personal and world energies since 2003.

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