By Mike Means
This greeting is one of my favorites. It is a season that brings hope and cheer to us as we remember the reason for the season and anticipate another year of God’s grace.
This coming year will challenge us to keep God as our focus. As our beloved state confronts lower energy costs and what that means to our economy, we will also be in the middle of a presidential election. The latter can be divisive as we each get emotionally attached to a favorite.
I’ve watched something similar happen in football. Bedlam, anyone? We have our favorite (OU!) and root for them to win. We get loud. We get crazy. But in the end, it’s just a football game and, afterward, we brag a little and move on. If our team loses, it doesn’t really affect us but momentarily, right?
But elections DO have consequences. As we struggle with our businesses, we are reminded of those consequences. Recently it seems the burdens of regulation are increasing at rapid rate. Can our economy sustain an expanding bureaucracy?
But there is hope.
The Housing Industry seems to be entering a new phase. First, we are finally seeing some growth as we see new household formation. But the expanse of financial regulations is making it more difficult for people to qualify and for our institutions to comply. Obviously, here in Oklahoma, we’re faced with a shrinking energy sector, which will reverberate through all sectors.
But there is hope.
Most think the direction of our country is on the wrong track. We think our candidate can fix that. This causes us to get more emotional, sometimes irrationally. We should not let differences of opinion affect us but sometimes we do. My resolve is to remember Christmas.
Christmas is more than a holiday. Hope comes with Christmas.
Christmas is a reminder once a year -- and many times I need a lot more reminders -- of who we are and what we are and that we need a Savior. By remembering our Savior, we can weather the differences and the emotions.
Our Savior brings hope.
