War On Christmas?

We hear a lot about the war on Christmas from traditionalists and the religious right.  It is definitely true that secularists want to rid the public square of Christianity.  In fact the culture in which we now live in the United States is already secular.  There is reason to be concerned about this because a culture based on secularism will not survive. 

But is a war on Christmas where our concerns should be?  What is usually celebrated on Christmas anyway?  In reality it is mostly characterized by Santa Claus, reindeer, lights, and receiving gifts.  Usually secular things are focused on even by professing Christians.  Maybe professing Christians are conducting their own war on Christmas. 

Is it really that meaningful if a retail store clerk tells us Merry Christmas?  Again what is probably being thought of is a secular version of Christmas.   If we get unbelievers to wish us a Merry Christmas but they stay on the road to hell, what kind of victory is really accomplished?  The ultimate need of people in our society is salvation.  They need to hear the Gospel message. 

Biblical illiteracy is a major problem in our culture and in the church.  We must truly teach the Bible in the churches and we must teach it to our culture.  That is the real hope for change in our society.  If people come to Christ and understand and believe the Bible they will celebrate Christ year round.  The culture would then develop a Biblical worldview which is the best for human flourishing. 

We must be concerned more about the eternal than the temporal.  After all this present world is passing away.  This world does matter and we should try to make it better but we have to realize the limitations of this world.  People need to be saved from God's wrath which comes about because of our sins.  Our priorities need to be sharing the Gospel and teaching the Bible.  We must deal with the heart of the problem and not just go around the edges.