Christmas & Cows
If you have ever been to our church in the winter, you know that we love Christmas! Somehow God brought together an entire team of people who agree it’s the most wonderful time of the year. Unlike many holiday haters, I love walking into a department store in September and seeing the holiday section change from pumpkins, turkeys, and cornucopia to ornaments, wreaths, and tiny winter villages. Every year I take a photo at the first sighting of inflatable snowmen and artificial trees towering in the seasonal section of Home Depot. At our church, we have some pretty fun Christmas traditions as well. Every year I buy all my staff Christmas shoes. When they least expect it, I turn my iPhone volume up and blast the holiday NewSong classic “The Christmas Shoes.” When the staff hears the familiar tune coming from my office, they know exactly what time it is.
I’ve always loved Christmas… everything about it. The decorations and lights. The classic movies and music. The nativity scenes and advent season. Ever since I was a kid, this time of the year has always been an exciting time for me. When I was younger, one of my favorite parts was waking up on Christmas morning to see what Santa had left for me. I always knew he had come because there was an empty glass of milk, cookie crumbs, and stockings full of candy and miniature treasures. It was fun growing up believing in an overweight grandpa wearing a red suit that squeezed down chimneys (even though we didn’t have one) while somehow traveling the world in one night on wingless mammals. Whether it was Santa, the Tooth Fairy, or the Easter Bunny, logistics didn’t matter… I believed. The truth is, not much has changed. No, I don’t still believe in the Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick. Instead, I have replaced those tales with a handful of other ones that are not nearly as exciting. The title of these fables would read something like, “You don’t have what it takes. You are too broken. Your depression and anxiety disqualify you.” The truth is, we all have untrue beliefs (lies) in our lives that never should have made it past the first time they entered our minds. Unfortunately, many of us have allowed these falsies to ruminate in our minds for days, weeks, months, and for some, even years.
The word ruminate originated in the 1660s and comes from the Latin word ruminantem. Warning… it’s about to get gross. The word was used to describe an animal chewing its cud. What is cud? Glad you asked. Cud is partly digested food returned from the stomach. So ruminantem refers to partly digested food returning to the mouth for further chewing. Yes, you read that correctly. An animal eats its food, barfs it up, and then eats it again. This is quite an image to behold, but it is a great depiction of what happens when we choose to ruminate on the lies that hold us captive. For almost two years, I allowed the lie that I don’t have what it takes to take root in my mind. Whenever it popped into my head, I’d give it free rent. From there, I would ruminate on it… over and over again.
When it comes to lies, we need to know two things. First, lies come from the enemy. In the Gospel of John, John paints a very clear picture of this. He says the devil “is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). So, as I did for far too long, many people give the enemy a seat at their table. They digest the lies from the devil and chew on them over and over again. EVERY TIME a lie enters our mind, we can be certain who the author is. The second thing we need to know about lies is that all evidence shows us that we can be free from them. We don’t have to let them hold us hostage. As I got older, I learned the truth about Santa. But it was not my age that brought me to know the truth; it was my maturity. As I matured, I learned to discern between what was true and what was not. The same is true of us. The more we mature and become like Jesus, the easier it will be to know the truth about ourselves.
If you struggle with believing lies about yourself, call them out. Look your lies in the face and tell them they are not welcome. Seriously… do this! Say it out loud even. You may not believe it right away, but the more you spit that lie out and refuse to chew on it, the less power that lie will have. Eventually, that lie will be replaced by something far more beautiful… the truth of God. So go ahead… start your lie-free diet today!