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Australian Commercial has Christians in a Tizzy
By Julie | December 23, 2007
This Christmas season in Australia an ad running has ticked some Christians off. The ad is a commercial for a company called Betta Electrical Stores. The commercial recasts the nativity scene. Mary and Joseph kneel beside Baby Jesus in the manger, as the three wise men present him with their gifts. After the gifts are presented, we see them fly out of the manger. Yep, Baby Jesus chucked them. The camera pans to Mary and Joseph, and a caption appears at the bottom of the screen that says “Get a better gift.” Watch here if you’re interested.
Here’s a link to an article about it: Get a Betta ad, Christians say
Christian leaders are condemning the commercial, saying it went too far. I can see why it’s upsetting. Then again, I can also see why the ad is hysterically funny. I kind of wonder if God himself didn’t chuckle a little. (God has definitely shown me he has a sense of humor, a better one than I have.)
Frankincense and myrrh are not exactly hot commodities in today. I think we can all appreciate gold still. But, in biblical times, gold meant wealth, and specifically money. Today it means a great pair of earrings.
I remember talking to people about the gifts the wise men sent, and saying, “Man, Baby Jesus got gypped.” As I read in the Book of Luke my first Christmas as a mom, I thought, “No way I’d let gold, frankincense, or myrrh around my baby.” Myrrh, it sounds like a sound an animal makes! In an era of offering onesies, diapers, stuffed animals, and soft blankets to a newborn, it’s hard to even imagine the gifts Jesus received could possibly be considered wise. Today, we’d have anyone who gave such a thing committed, and declared insane. The entire scandal would end up in newspapers, blogs, and talk shows. Experts, celebrities, and nobodies would speculate on what caused the deterioration of the individuals’ minds. Until we finally determined they had a bad childhood, and thus should not be held accountable. So we’d blame bad parenting, and a society that didn’t reach out in the right way.
And yet, the gifts Jesus received were considered wonderful gifts at the time. They were exquisite and exceptional. The gifts were fit for a King. I’d say that’s appropriate, because Jesus was, in fact, a King. (Even so, no frankincense or myrrh are going near my kids.)
But even if they were gifts for a king, they would never measure up to the gifts that baby would eventually give the wise men, his parents, his disciples, or every single one of us. His birth was miraculous, a sign of hope to the entire world, for that generation, and everyone to come.
Political correctness is trying to condemn Christianity, and eliminate Christmas from our lips. We are supposed to call our trees ‘Holiday’ trees, sorry, can’t do it, I have a Christmas tree in my living room. We are supposed to take down the nativities, and replace them with less offensive (why it’s offense to believe differently than others I will never understand) symbols, like a snowman, or Santa. Jospeh, Mary, and Baby Jesus are sitting in my yard, and will next year as well. We are to say, “Season’s Greetings,” and eliminate the word Christmas. Don’t want to offend anyone who believes differently. Well here it goes…Merry Christmas. Because that’s the holiday I celebrate, and will always celebrate. If you don’t, happy whatever you do celebrate, I have all respect for you. But, I will continue to celebrate Christmas.
So many people wonder what the big deal is, “Just call it whatever makes people happy.” But, if we remove Christmas, we remove the nativity, the virgin birth, the gifts of the wise men, and the hope tiny baby Jesus brought the world. If we remove Christmas, and his birth, we remove Easter, and our salvation .If the world tries to profess the baby never came, it also implies the man never made the ultimate sacrifice. If it hadn’t happened, surely we would’ve imploded ourselves a long time ago.
But he did come, for all of us. And the least I can do to say thank you is to give him the only gift he wants from me, myself.
Merry Christmas Eve! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!
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