When Scrooge was told of the plight of the poor and then asked how much he wanted to give he said, "Nothing."  His reason?  There were already institutions caring for the poor so why did he need to get involved? Especially since he already paid taxes.

The Reel Meaning of Christmas?  No matter how good an institution does it's job it will always be charity dispensed at an arms length. While I'm grateful that we live in a country with government social programs that provide a much needed safety net in our society we can never think that it takes the place of incarnational love.  Dickens wrote, in part, to show how love dispensed at a distance is degrading and often robs a human being of their dignity.  Which is why many of the downtrodden in Dickens day chose life on the streets–prostitution, thievery and child labor–instead of availing themselves of the institutional options.

This is why knowing the Christmas carol of A Christmas Carol is so important.  What's the chorus of, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen?  

Tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy

Oh, tidings of comfort and joy.

If you are one of the billions of people on this planet living on less than a dollar a day, a single struggling mother or dying alone in a hospice, where should you look for your comfort and joy?  To whom should you look to your comfort and joy?

The answer:  The converted.  More specifically, those who have come face to face with their mortality and because of supernatural guidance, have rejected the insatiable appetites of "want" & "ignorance."  More simply:  followers of Jesus.

What if we did what Dickens did?  As a writer he used his skills to call attention to the need an suffering of the world.  What if we all used our skills in that manner?

(Next we'll explore The Reel Meaning of Christmas in Miracle on 34th Street)