Poetry

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’Twas the Night Before Christmas –
In the Twenty-First Century


’Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the world,
We people were busy, our lives in a swirl.

We shopped in the stores, ’til dawns early light,
Next month our credit bills, will be out of sight.

All the roadways are crowded, the traffic has stopped,
Is Christmas reduced, to just how much we shop?

Frustration and anger, and mountains of stress,
Unfinished business, our lives in a mess.

We go through the season, all torn up and battered.
Are we just too blind, to see what’s the matter?

Away to our parties, we fly in a flash,
We run ’til we’re so tired, we come home and crash.

The hours we spend, on decorations and bows,
Will add up to more, than a computer could hold.

When we push our-selves, and run out of cheer,
Our joy is replaced, with agitation and fear.

Worried we chose presents, a little too quick.
Our stomachs feel wheezy, we start to get sick.

The search never ends, for electronic games,
Hey, whatever happened, to toy cars and trains?

There’s Game Cube and Ipods, if you’re lucky to get’em,
On line or on sale, there’s always slim pickin’s.

We run out to Wal-Mart, then on out to the mall,
Then get on our cell phones, and make call after call.

When we finish the shopping, we just want to cry.
We need to start cooking, but we’re too tired to try.

Our job is not over, we’re not close to through.
We have to fix dinner, for a hundred and two.

And then in an instant, the food’s gone in a poof.
There’s not even a crumb left, or one drop of soup.

We try to be social, when friends are around,
But when comp’ny’s gone, it’s a dif-fer-ent sound.

Impatient with children, and short with our spouse
It’s easy to see, there’s a war in our house.

Concerned about schedule, we’re quick to snap back.
The ones we love most, are the first we attack.

When we were just children, the season seemed merry.
For back then more people, seemed loving and caring.

Our motives for giving, are so hard to know.
Today many good works, are nothing but show.

No smiles on our faces, we start to act rude.
We have a role-model, in E-be-nez-er Scrooge.

Yet all a-round us, people live and they die.
Have we become so numb, we can’t hear their cries?

So many pressures, we look for relief.
Our minds run in high gear, and rob us of peace.

And as we lay down, all our bodies will ache.
We can’t un-der-stand why, we call Christ-mas a break.

With no time to rest, we’re glad when it’s over.
We all make a vow, next year we’ll go slower.

But are we real-ly diff’rent, from o-ther folks.
Is our faith im-por-tant?, Are our lives a joke?

Next week we’ll be back, at school and at work.
Have our lives now changed, because of Jesus Christ’s birth.

Then we have a last thought, as we turn out the light.
Shouldn’t Christ-mas be more, than just bus-tle and hype?



’Twas the night before Christmas, in heaven on high.
The Savior was watching, and he breathed a deep sigh.

We people all busy, with plans of our own.
Forgot all about Je-sus, and making Him known.

The world was just missing, the gist of it all.
We kept closing our ears, to God’s holy call.

We spent all our money, on ourselves and our friends
Forgetting that missionaries, on our of-fer-ings de-pend.

And as He watched on, His face just grew sadder.
No one would be still, and stop all the clatter.

He wanted to speak, and calm all our hearts,
With our minds distracted, we wanted no part.

His Father looked on, at all us below,
Our lives were so busy, but our hearts were still slow.

“You haven’t learned much, after two-thousand years.
You still bear your burdens, your doubts and your fears.”

“Sometimes you will call Me, when you’re tired or you’re sick.
But when your life goes smoothly, you are not so quick.”

“In good times and bad times, I love you the same.
I want you to con-stant-ly, call on My name.”

“If you would just trust Me, your needs would be met.
You wor-ry about so much, you tend to forget.”

And the Father and Son, keep watching us all,
Their hearts are still breaking, when They see us fall.

They see us trade peace, for pain and de-spair,
We should give up the world, and be Kingdom heirs.

We try to get things, that we think will last,
But before we can blink, they’re a thought in the past.

Now some don’t believe, they say they need proof.
We think we’re so smart, and we act all aloof.

When shepherds were told, they didn’t wait around.
Im-med-i-ate-ly they ran, to Bethlehem town.

Later Ma-gi came, from a country afar,
They trusted enough, and they followed a star.

Shepherds and Magi, simply chose to be-lieve.
Now days we could follow, the example of these.

We think we know better, how happiness comes.
But we’ll never be content, ’til His will is done.

I’m not bashing Santa , so don’t get me wrong,
But not even Santa, claims to sit on the throne.

The Father and Son, want no less than the best,
Just put Them first, and forget all the rest.

So this Christmas season, don’t miss the goal.
Je-sus came down to earth, God’s love to unfold.

And if we could hear Him, I think He would say,
“Don’t turn blessings to burdens, and learn to obey.”

“I wish you would think, of the thorns on My head,
The cross where I hung, until I was dead.”

“That was My reason, for coming to earth.
To lay down my life, and do sal-va-tion’s work.”

“And then on the third day, from the grave I arose.
But often you children, act like you do not know.”

Forsaking all else, to your Savior be true,
Do you know Jesus, and live like you do?

He’s calling to you now, to end all your strife,
“Please come unto me, receive everlasting life.”

Copyright Rev. Jimmy Tarrant 2006

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