Christmas 2011 – A time for sharing

As Christians all over the world celebrate Christmas, often its true meaning becomes masked by the over commercialisation of the celebrations. Like the festivals of all other major religions the single most important essence of Christmas is sharing. It is the common practice for us all to go around sharing our joy, happiness, food, drinks and gifts with our friends and relatives which is indeed a wonderful practice that Malaysians of all ethnicity share in common.

While sharing with those who have is good it is better still for us to share with those who do not have anything. It may not be money and food that we need to share but happiness which many lack these days. There are many in our midst who lack happiness for many reasons. Often we may not be able to overcome the cause of their sadness but we can bring some cheer by sharing our happiness with them. We may not have much to offer them I but is not the the abundance we have that matters but to share the little of the little we have that matters most.

One of the most important possessions that we can share is goodwill that transcends race or creed, which is most needed in our country today. Goodwill is what we all give in abundance if only we want to. So much hatred is being sown into the minds of the people by many who seek power and wealth. This has to be neutralised and that can only be done by sharing our goodwill with those of other races and faith.

As we go about celebrating Christmas let’s not forget that most important need of our country even after 54 years of independence is unity and unless we share our goodwill with other fellow Malaysians, this unity that has been carefully nurtured over the years may not be there to be cherished by the generations to come.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year