Urging caution on Christmas spending

CHRISTIANS all over the world are poised to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25, 2019. Obviously, every Christian look forward to December 25, a day which has been earmarked globally for marking the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Undoubtedly, most people commence the preparation for Christmas as from November while some wait until December. The season is usually great. The euphoria is felt by many as it is a season of get-together of family members, villagers, town union members too. A lot of organisations and associations use the period to stage their end of year parties. Of course, stocks, evaluations and projections are made by these organisations. The weather is awesome and great in line with the nature of nativity.

  However, this writer is concerned about the way and manner a lot of people prepare for the celebration, particularly parents and guardians. People go out of their ways to spend huge sums of money to buy all manner of things for their children and wards during this period. Certainly, it is good to show children love by buying things for them like clothes, shoes, bags and the like but it should not be at the detriment of other priorities. Parents ought to check their financial capabilities before they engage in most of these buying. The notion of reckless spending must be eschewed. Nonetheless, families are expected to cook special foods on that occasion. It’s now a tradition. Large numbers of people embark on journeys to their villages and towns to see their dear ones and to participate in meetings which are often crucial. There is need for one to look at his or her pockets to ascertain if he or she can really do it and survive January and February, when landlords and school authorities will be at the neck of parents.

  People should try as much as possible to have self – control. They should not be carried away by sentiments. Sentiments of any kind or bandwagon approach should not be allowed to override their sense of judgment. Parents and guardians who possess greater self-control can resist temptation, even if the temptation promises short – term rewards. Parents and guardians should learn how to say “Yes” and mean it and say “no” and meant it. This could also be seen in the Bible: “Let your word yes mean yes, your No, no’ – Mathew 5:37. Young children might test a parent’s resolve by throwing a tantrum – perhaps even in public. If the parent gives in, the child learns that tantrums are effective ways to get a no changed to a yes. On the other hand if the parent says no and means it, the child learns a basic fact of life – that we cannot always get what we want. Ironically, people who learn that lesson seem to be the most fulfilled. According our kids all favours is how we teach them that the world will always serve up whatever they want on a silver platter.

  Therefore, parents should learn to live according to their means. Pretences must go and realities need to be exhibited at all times. There is absolute need for people to have proper planning for their homes. Somebody can decide to start very early, may be from January or February to start saving for Christmas spending. In that manner, he or she may not feel the spending much. The idea of expending so much money during yuletide and looking for money to pay school fees and house rent is not good. This is unwise economically. It is a fact that some people borrow money to execute Christmas spending and you ask yourself: does it worth it? What is the essence of marking Jesus Christ’s birth? Is it for show off or reflections on the life lived by Christ? The latter ought to be learnt by people and people are supposed to have deeper reflections on the characteristics of our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ. This writer is not condemning celebration of yuletide or nativity but wants everyone to be careful in expenditure.

  This does not vitiate the fact that there are rich people amongst us. The rich or very rich people should also show love to some other people, particularly the less privileged ones by reaching out to them with various gifts like rice, meat, money and others. Of course, some persons are involved in this exercise though their number is infinitesimal. There is need for other rich men and women to emulate those who give out gifts to the poor. God has a way of rewarding them. Although, someone could be rich today and tomorrow he or she goes bankrupt. If one falls in this category, there is every need for the person to tell him or herself the truth. The truth is that you cannot replicate what you used to do because of circumstance. If one pretends and spends above what he has, trouble and problems set in and regrets become order of the day.

With the euphoria of Christmas once again witnessed by us, there is urgent need for us to be very cautious of how we spend our money in order not to jeopardise our prioritised projects like school fees, house rent and hospital bills.