The significance of Christmas

An African analogy: Baboons, monkeys, and the farmer 

On the country land of an African village, a man is seen continuously setting traps to chase Baboons and monkeys away from a maize field. One day this Man did not show up to chase away the animals, which was quite unusual. When the Baboons and Monkeys heard that the man who used to chase them away from the maize field had died, they hysterically celebrated. The following year, there was no maize, and that is when they painfully realized the dead Man was the  Farmer! This narrative is adopted from a quote by Julius Malema, (a South African politician), which was shared with me by a friend. Monkey and the farmer.

The moral

So what is the moral of this analogy? The moral of this narrative is that under all circumstances, we should learn to live with those we feel are a source of discomfort or ire to us. Even those we may consider our enemies. This analogy also provided me a new insight into a biblical narrative of an answer Jesus gave to the Pharisees when he was asked about the greatest commandment in the Law Matthew 22 (36-40). The Pharisees, the religious leaders at the time, had made an art of classifying the various religious laws. This provided them with relative degrees of importance for their benefit and it also ensured that they could maintain influence and stay in control of (political) power. This is an all too familiar phenomenon to many of us, which sad enough is still existent in our educational, corporate, and political systems today. 

According to the scriptures, the goal of the (religious) lawmakers in asking Jesus this question was to test Him, but his response to them was unexpected and stunning.  He answered them with the words, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself." All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

The meaning of Christmas

For the non-religious reader, the relevance of this biblical narrative lies in the latter part of Jesus' response, i.e., "Love your neighbor as yourself.” Although we might reject all those we consider to be our adversaries today, over time, we shall realize that they are (and have been) the crucial pillars needed for our personal development and growth. We may even later come to understand and appreciate why they crossed our paths when they did. As Malema goes on to say, "not all enemies are enemies. Some are mere wailers. Others are imaginary haters". So, Looked at differently, those we perceive or may consider are our adversaries are mostly the "facilitators" or "unofficial coaches" that we require to succeed in our various endeavors. They cross our paths not by chance, but by design, to prepare us all for the next stages of our journies.

A Christmas Wish

Therefore, as we move on into the next year and especially during this Christmas season, let us look back and be thankful for every single person or experience that crossed our path this year. Importantly, "let us all love one another despite our differences and learn to forgive those who may have hurt us" because this is the significance of Christmas - a season full of love, joy, and happiness

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy new year in advance!

#Compassion #Love #Joy