Monday, December 6, 2021
The Gospel According to Scrooge Day 1 - By Eric Adcock
I love A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. When I was young I was both scared and completely captured by the story. Two of my favorite versions are with George C Scott (1984), and A Muppet Christmas Carol with Michael Caine (1992), but my all time one is with Patrick Stewart in 1999. They all tell the same story in a different way.
It’s the story of all of us isn’t it? We can all be like Scrooge in our lives, affected by pain, sorrow, loss, discontent and jealousy. As everyone knows, Scrooge has it all.....and has nothing. He is filled with bitterness and resentment despite his fortune. He spreads sadness among all he meets, among them his employee Bob Cratchet. I’m always amazed by the resolve of Scrooge. He is determined to not celebrate Christmas or come to think of it, joy or happiness, in any way.
We all know a Scrooge, but do we ourselves recognize when we are like Scrooge? It reminds me of customer that came into Pizza Place a lot in the old days. According to the customer the order was rarely right and the customer seemed to always be in a bad mood. No one working wanted to wait on this customer. I would try to be kind when I had to deal with this customer but to be honest with you, I didn’t want to have anything to do with this person.
So who is Scrooge in this story? It was me of course. I knew the right thing to do and didn’t want to do it. I struggled looking beyond the justice I wanted, of the customer acting right, instead of me acting right. I should have chosen mercy and forgiveness instead. Scrooge throws out the men asking for help for the poor, snaps at Bob Cratchet and even chases off some kids singing carols out side his door! Can he be changed? Stay tuned for tomorrow when we see an old friend stop by to send Scrooge on a wild ride.
If you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, is evil. James 4:17 The Message
