It is time to ring in what is affectionately called “The Christmas Season.” The Christmas holiday is so big that, like spring or autumn, it now qualifies as its own season. Even non-Christ-followers celebrate this holiday as a time of joy, laughter and hope.

Yet, for many, it is a sad time of year. Maybe you, too, have experienced a somberness at Christmas, often called the “Christmastime blahs.” It is quite ironic that many Christ-followers, during this time meant for bliss, do not feel like celebrating.

I have served some wonderful churches and alongside many remarkable people, many of whom are passionately committed to our Savior. But, every year during the holidays, I speak with people who are struggling. These are extraordinary people who desperately need to have their chins raised in renewed hope. It is a painful thing to know you are supposed to express joy in response to your Savior but instead are racked by sadness and fear.

There is no magic pill to cure the blues, but there is one important act that should help those who struggle: We must personally concentrate on God’s generosity and then respond, in generosity, to others.

The Apostle Paul points to generosity and the essence of Christmas in 1 Corinthians 8:9: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though He was rich, for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich.” So here is the call to focus on Christ, as God, in full possession of the glories of heaven, lacking nothing, but taking notice of our poverty and coming to earth, emptying Himself of heavenly wealth so that we might become eternally prosperous.

If we know Christ, we are rich! This is how our chins are lifted. This is how the blahs can be dissipated. We must reflect on the wonderful generosity of our Heavenly Father who makes us eternally rich. Go ahead and pinch yourself — you are not dreaming!

What is our response to such riches from our Savior? We now have the privilege to respond likewise in generosity, especially this time of year. Maybe, for you, the Christmas season tends to be both busy and expensive. Your time and money may be in shorter supply, but your desire to be generous remains. Quite simply, prayerfully and intently, you need to find a way to bless someone in the name of Christ. The opportunities are endless. You may volunteer through your church or community to serve families in your area. Maybe you can help a child in a nearby school. You also have the opportunity to support missionaries through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Whatever it is, get out there. People need it, and so do you!

The good news is that the blahs can be attacked. The added bonus to your generosity is what it does for your own heart as you go through the Christmas season. Our joy is most fully realized when we are used by God to bring it to others.

Generosity has a tremendous impact on us as it attacks many of the things keeping us down. Generosity declares war on our self-centeredness; it deploys its holy regiment against complacency, scales the wall of passivity, and affixes its banner of love upon our hearts, warmed to Christ’s mission of loving our neighbors.

The word is out: The blahs remain extremely vulnerable to generosity!

Before long, it will be time to pack up the decorations, drag the evergreen out the front door, and settle in for the coldest months of the year. Thinking about that may be a reason for the blahs, but now is the time for Christmas joy!

So let us remember every day what our Savior has done for us, and respond accordingly: in generosity. This may be your best Christmas season yet!

— Doug Mize is a contributor to The Courier and Baptist Press and serves as interim pastor of Greer First Baptist Church.