Merry Christmas?

As the time of Christmas joys has arrived, it is time to reflect of some of the major injustices in the world.
It may not seem like a merry thing to do, but this is a holiday which in the western world is synonymous with presents and large amounts of food - don't get me wrong I love a good christmas present and a good christmas meal. In fact, today I'm going for steak, but I think it should also be a time where we look at the original meaning and look at giving to the people who need it most.

Obviously the original meaning is that of the birth of Christ. The son of god. The messiah. He was brought into this world to bring a new direction to the people's beliefs and to their way of thinking, he was there to set things right. (in a Christian point of view) And I sit here and find myself thinking, with the world gone the way it has, where is he now? Surely it is needed now more than ever; especially as the world looms ever more on complete destruction if world leaders get their ways. But nope, he's nowhere to be seen (but please do forgive my atheistic/agnostic points of view)

Now let's move on to a developing world/western world comparison. A stark contrast between what people have, and yet the religious faith is greater in the countries that have very little than it is in our countries. Think about it - the western world is filled with people who attend church once a week, or even once a year, and pray only every once in a while to be forgiven or to get something they want. And yet the developing world finds extreme solace in the idea of a greater being there.
Personally, this brings me great trouble. I have great difficulty in being able to believe in a greater being such as the 'omni-god' as I cannot understand why someone who is meant to be benevolent (all-loving), omnipotent AND omniscient (all powerful and all knowing) could bring such horrors into this world. Moreover, when people try and address this by using the 'fall from grace' argument it is often irrelevant as it does not explain things such as the horrible diseases, natural disasters and malnourishment that exists in this world.
Even within Western civilisation there is a lot of poverty, illness and fear. We often do not know what is coming next and especially with the recession there are increasing amounts of people becoming jobless or even homeless. They may not be sleeping on the streets but they have had the kindness of their friends and families to ensure that they have somewhere to stay - something which not everyone is blessed with.

So what about doing something different this Christmas? Don't worry, I'm not asking you to step away from the massive turkey that's stood on the table. But maybe try and give a little something back?
Help at a food drive, search through your wardrobe and donate your clothes to a charity that redistributes them to the poor, homeless, needy or those in a developing country?
Maybe try and raise some money or awareness for your own favourite charity?
Organise that next year soldiers who are fighting for your country get christmas presents?
What about getting creative? Write a song, poem, short story with what you think the Christmas message should be.
Just try and raise some awareness for something YOU believe in, try and fight an injustice somewhere. Try and do something about the general ridiculousness of the situations we find ourselves in.

That is all.