As for the person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing to do with him,
Titus 3:10 ESV
Bah Humbug is an expression used to express disdain or criticism of something other people enjoy, especially Christmas. Charles Dickens made this phrase famous in his story, A Christmas Carol. It was used repeatedly by the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge.
The last sermon our former pastor preached was titled, A Grouchy Christian is an Oxymoron. If you profess to be a Christian, but go around acting like a scrooge, you might want to do a little self-examination. As Christians, we have experienced a new birth. We are new creatures in Christ. We have been saved from our former sinful lives and been restored. We look forward to spending eternity with our Lord and Savior.
We are told in Philippians 4:8 that we should concentrate on the positive things in our lives. We are told to dwell on those things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable. We are told to think about things where there is excellence, things that are worthy of praise.
We have a choice each day, we can look at every negative thing we can consider or see in our lives, and I know there are many. Or we can focus on God. God is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely and commendable. He is excellent and is worthy of our praise. We should be praising Him continually; this is good practice for when we get to heaven.
And please don’t tell me this is just the way God made you. That is such a cop out. God made us in His image. We are born with a sinful nature, yes, but we can be born again, and He will cleanse us of our unrighteousness. He will forgive us of our sins. We can be adopted into His kingdom. All we have to do is accept Jesus Christ as our savior, believe in Him and confess our sins to Him. Then we can be saved and made a new creature in Christ. That is something to sing and shout about, my friend.
I used to be one of these cynical, complaining Christians. I read about the Israelites and how God was continually punishing them for their grumbling and complaining. I finally got it. God hates it when we grumble and complain. It shows a lack of faith in Him. It shows a lack of appreciation for all the good He does for us and gives to us.
If you are a scrooge this Christmas season and all year round. You may want to rethink that. We are told in Galatians 5:25 that if we live by the Spirit, we ought to keep in step with the Spirit. We are told in Ephesians 5:20 that we should give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. But the biggest thing about being negative is we can change that. We are told in 2 Corinthians 10:15 that we destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
Stop and think about what you are thinking about. Stop before you say something negative and grumble and complain. God does not honor our whining. He doesn’t honor our negativity. In 2 Timothy 3:5 it speaks of those who have the appearance of godliness but deny its power. This is the person who comes into church and sits on a pew every Sunday but grumbles and complains continually. I’m sure you’ve encountered a few of those. The Bible doesn’t mince words, it tells us to avoid those people.
Negativity can rub off on you. So, if you find yourself hanging around with someone who is negative, you may want to rethink that. Our Scripture passage says to warn them once, then twice, then avoid them. 1 Corinthians 15:33 tells us not to be deceived, “Bad company ruins good morals.”
If you are doing your best to focus on God and His goodness and hanging out with a scrooge, stop. Let them know, gently, that you can’t do this. If you are the scrooge, turn to God. Ask Him to help you to focus on the goodness of Him and His mercy and His grace. There is nothing negative in a life lived with Christ.
Think about that.
Have a great day!