The Hollow Glow: Reclaiming the Truth in a Secular Christmas

Walking through town this December, I am struck by a profound and unsettling silence. The streets are ablaze with light, the storefronts are draped in garland, and the air is thick with the scent of pine and peppermint. Yet, in this overwhelming display of “holiday cheer,” there is a glaring absence. You can walk for miles and see a thousand Santas, a legion of elves, and endless displays of sparkling ornaments, but you will look in vain for any sign of Jesus.

It is a strange irony that in a nation where our currency still boldly proclaims “In God We Trust,” we have effectively scrubbed His name from the public square. We have reached a point where Christmas has been hollowed out, replaced by a secular shell that prioritizes the dollar over the Deity.

The Erasure of Faith

I remember a different America. I remember a time when the Bible wasn’t a forbidden book in the classroom and when prayer was a natural start to the school day. We were read Bible stories as children, and far from “corrupting” us, those stories provided a moral compass and a sense of belonging to something greater than ourselves. Today, God is rarely mentioned outside the four walls of a church, as if faith were a private hobby rather than the foundation of our civilization. By removing prayer and scripture from our schools, we haven’t made them “neutral”; we have simply left them empty.

The Idols of Gluttony and Greed

In the absence of the Nativity, a new set of idols has taken center stage. Modern Christmas has become a monument to secular gluttony and unchecked commercialism. We move from one rich, heavy meal to the next, consuming far more than we need, while the “spirit of giving” has been distorted into a frantic race for material possessions.

The “reason for the season” has been buried under a mountain of wrapping paper. Everywhere you look, the message is the same: Buy more, eat more, want more. It is a cycle of greed that leaves the soul feeling cluttered but ultimately unsatisfied. This commercial obsession is more than just annoying—it is a spiritual distraction from the miracle of the Incarnation.

An Eternal Light

Despite the noise, the neon, and the neglect, there is a truth that the world cannot extinguish. They can take the creche off the courthouse lawn and the hymns out of the schools, but they cannot remove the Christmas spirit from the hearts of the faithful.

The true spirit of Christmas is not found in a sale or a centerpiece; it is eternal and inescapable for those who are seeking something better than what this old world offers. It is a quiet, persistent light that shines through the fog of secularism. While the world celebrates a holiday of its own making, we celebrate a Savior who remains the only source of true hope. This year, let us look past the tinsel and find our way back to the manger.

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