Love Is Patient, Love is Kind...??? The Golden Ruler Comes Out Again

Faux (er Fox) News in their "fair and balanced" delivery to bring the essence of the season, which I think the last time I heard a carol was "peace on earth, goodwill to all" is allowing Bill O'Really (oops... O'Reilly) to defend the existence of the Christmas holiday in the US by touting his terribly offended personal feelings about stores that wish all their customers "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas."

Like I've said before, we all need to be selective in choosing our battles. And Mr. O'Reilly, this is not the battle to wage. I think a tap or two from Sister Jen's Golden Ruler will help set Mr. O'Reilly straight. By the way, Mr. O'Reilly, do you know the Golden Rule?

Let's summize why Mr. O'Reilly deserves the pleasant touch of the Golden Ruler. In usual O'Really-form, he touts that the majority of Americans are Christian and that saying "Happy Holidays" degrades the US Christmas holiday. It is true that the majority of United States citizens claim they are Christian, but that doesn't mean that all Christians are commited and believe in the same Christian philosophy.

In fact, if you read the link, many (75% of Americans) Christians believe that "God helps those who help themselves" and that this statement is in the Bible. However, this idea was first stated by Ben Franklin, and Jesus never encouraged such attitudes. Jesus said during one of his parables, "whatever you do to the least of these, you do unto me." Thus, the majority of Christian Americans do not even understand their own religion.

I think Fox News and especially O'Reilly is way off track, if they truly want to see Christianity touted as the majority religion in the US. Maybe they should get off their soap box and start reading what Jesus and his followers said and wrote about the Christian way of life in the Bible's New Testament. Like the passage most read at weddings (so if you've been to a Christian wedding in your life, you would have heard these verses if you paid attention):

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

As Christians, we are the Love that the Apostle Paul talks about here. Bill O'Reilly apparently thinks it's a Christian responsibility to demand that stores say "Merry Christmas" over a phrase just as courteous, or even more so.

A more appropriate demand for this Christmas holiday season ought to be for Christian mainstream media leaders like O'Reilly to encourage Americans to live the way Jesus would want them to live by loving their neighbor, speaking kind words, gently help each other (just read what I like to refer to as the "be-attitudes" in Matthew, read the whole chapter for a greater understanding of what Jesus stands for, and what all Christians ought to know and believe).

Bill O'Reilly is just a part of this sad paradox and in fact continues to lead the way for Christian Americans to set aside Christian beliefs for their own agenda. Shame on you, Mr. O'Reilly. And shame on us all (American Christians, at least) for being so ignorant of the very beliefs we claim to profess. I pray that we all, including Mr. O'Reilly, will stop pushing our religion on others and start living our religion as God wishes, not only during the Christmas season, but for our entire lives. And may our lives echo the pleasant refrain "peace on Earth, good will to all!"