People with faith in God who are "called according to His purpose" have a dual interest in fighting poverty and disease. There is the temporal benefit of doing good to a fellow human being and the delight in seeing that life fulfill its potential. And there is the even greater motivation of acting as God's agent in demonstrating His love for the physical body in order that the person on the receiving end of that love might open his or heart to the eternal message of salvation in and through Jesus Christ. It is He who has the ultimate answer to the poverty of the soul and the "disease" called sin.

I have no expectation that "the world" will properly observe the birth of Christ. Why should it when He was rejected when He walked among us? Requiring governments to adhere to this unique expression of who God is would require a "conversion" by the consumer-driven culture. That culture has exploited Jesus to make money rather than to obey His teachings, accept the greatest gift ever offered to humankind in forgiveness of sins and walk a new path that does not lead to prosperity in this life, but to true riches and eternal life.

Britain is far ahead of America in its abandonment of the things of God, so it should come as no surprise that some wish to throw off the remnants of what Britain and much of Europe once embraced as Truth. For those nations that have largely abandoned Christ and His message to continue to celebrate Christmas as if they still believed it would be the height of hypocrisy. Let those who still "keep Christmas" in their hearts observe it well and not look to governments to ratify what they have abandoned.

Of course Christmas and Christmas have been important to the United States, if for no other reason than that it transforms the bottom lines of many businesses from red to black. For the most part (this election cycle being the exception because of the front-loading of the primaries and Iowa caucuses) it mostly silences the politicians, which is the perfect gift for most of us! But it also gives Congress a way to identify with a feel-good sentiment expressed in such classic films as "It's A Wonderful Life," "The Bishop's Wife," and "White Christmas."

The key to such resolutions is that they not be too specific. Congress wouldn't want to go on record as affirming the greatest contribution ever made: God's gift to Man -- salvation in and through Jesus Christ. It is instructive that language about Jesus was deleted from the resolution before it passed, making the Christmas and Christian resolution no more significant than National Pickle Week to some members of Congress.