The Grinch

But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged; it strikes you, and you are dismayed. -- Job 4:5 NIV

We all have a little bit of the Grinch in us, I think. The Grinch is really nothing more than life's little bits of discouragement that build upon themselves like a garbage pile. Something goes wrong and we stew on it...even, and maybe especially, something miniscule. Then when the next thing (again, probably something minor) goes wrong we get a little more buildup of frustration. Eventually it turns into discouragement and quite possibly bitterness. It's easy enough to do that I would wager most of us don't even realize what's happening until we find ourselves in such a state...and everything just seems so...heavy.

It can get even worse when we are a bombarded with good cheer and holiday best wishes at every turn. Advertisers spend lots and lots of money convincing us that if we don't go spend every dime we have we aren't really "in the spirit". No wonder this time of year is also the most depressing!

The key to eliminating, or at least minimizing, the Grinch inside of us is to keep our perspective. The season is about celebrating. It's a time to celebrate family and friends, to reflect on all of the successes of the past year instead of dwelling on the failures. We're celebrating the birth of Jesus, regardless of whether the world wants you to believe that is still okay or not (more on that tomorrow). So celebrate it! It represents freedom from sin, freedom from burdens, freedom from loneliness, freedom from the Grinch.