Surfing and Christmas

The wind was blowing hard out of the northeast. There was a small chill in the air. I stood on the beach watching the surf, choppy and messy, white caps as far as the eye could see.

Watching the ocean, I decided not to paddle out. It did not look like much fun on a longboard, which is all I ride. As I turned to leave, I saw a teenage boy with a sky-blue board walk to the water. He waded in and began to stroke for the outside where the waves were breaking past the pier.

Something jogged a very old memory. The color of his blue board. It was Christmas morning of 1985 and under the tree was a tiffany blue board that my parents had bought me. It was such a beautiful gift and, thankfully, one they could afford.

As I watched the teenager paddle out to surf, my thoughts drifted to Christmas. I suddenly found myself becoming critical of how Christmas has been grossly transformed by capitalism.

Why does a holy day—such as Christmas—inspire such vast consumerism? I mean, it’s not like Jesus is a poster child for materialism. As I recall, he does say, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  

As I write this, I know full-well that I have more surfboards than I really need. And I understand that we shop till we drop to demonstrate our love for other people. I know that we have taken the idea of gift giving at Christmas from “the wise men of the east,” a story found in Matthew’s Gospel. But, as Dr. Seuss reminds us, “Even the Grinch knew that Christmas doesn’t come from a store.”

Honestly, it’s the spending thing that has me concerned. There are a number of issues associated with excessive expenditures—not the least of which is that the average credit card debt per household in the U.S. is over $16,000. This is absurd.

Surfing has taught me many things. One of the things that surfing has taught me is that simple pleasures can be the best pleasures. Nothing I can buy from a store will give me the same level of joy as riding waves.

So, if you haven’t started buying presents yet, consider this: Long after your teenager tires of her $500 designer purse, long after the new Ipad is replaced by a faster model, the credit card companies will continue to reap the benefits of your excess (but don’t get me started on usury).

Do yourself a favor: Keep Christmas simple and affordable. After all, the wise men who brought gifts to baby Jesus didn’t buy the stuff on credit. And they didn’t spend the next year paying off the bill, which is probably why we call them wise.