Thursday, 16 December 2010
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The Meaning Behind Your Christmas Lights
By Sharon at SheWorshipsFive or six years ago I ran across an article that I will never forget. It detailed the plight of a pastor in China who had been imprisoned dozens of times for preaching the Gospel in house churches around his region. He had been captured so many times, in fact, that he always carried a duffle bag with a change of clothes in it wherever he went. However, what truly haunted me about this man’s story was his punishment in those Chinese prisons. Many times he was placed on a factory line where he was forced to make thousands of Christmas lights to be sold in the United States.
I was unable to find the original article, but christianity.com has posted the following information about Christians who continue to suffer the same persecution:
For many in the United States, Christmas lights are a nice way to decorate for the holidays and brighten the dreariness of winter. To some, they serve as a reminder of the light in the world as a result of our Savior’s birth.
WorldServe Ministries hopes that these decorations will also prompt believers to pray for more than 1,000 imprisoned Christians in China.
As we buy our Christmas lights, few of us notice the “made in China” tag that is attached. Even fewer know that to benefit China’s economy, the lights were probably made by persecuted prisoners, many of whom are Christian pastors.
According to WorldServe Ministries, pastors are subject to severe conditions and brutal beatings. Many are forced to work 16-20 hours each day assembling strands of Christmas lights. This is done without tools, causing their fingers and hands to bleed from threading the tiny wires through plastic holders and fitting in the plastic bulbs – with a quota of 5,000 bulbs per day.
If their work is not satisfactory, they are beaten and forced to re-do the work in addition to the next day’s quota.
This story is yet another good reason to shop fair trade so that we aren’t supporting these abuses, but it is also a powerful reminder. A popular verse at Christmas time is Isaiah 9:2 which reads,
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.
During the Christmas season we love to celebrate the “light” of which this verse speaks, but the above story also compels us to remember the darkness. We live in a dark world where followers of Jesus continue to be persecuted and killed for their faith. And while we don’t like to think about such a somber topic during this season, the darkness is what makes the light so bright. And good.
So yes, celebrate and rejoice! It is good to remember the birth of Christ and to praise God with happy festivities and moments of quiet awe. But let’s also remember those who cannot celebrate so freely. Pray for your brothers and sisters this Christmas who are fighting the good fight in very dark places. When you see the lights on your tree, remember the light of Christ, but also remember the darkness that he came to conquer, as well as your own important role in that battle.
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About the Author
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- From: sheworships
- Name: Sharon
- About Me: Sharon Hodde Miller is a North Carolina girl, born and raised! She is originally from Charlotte, NC, and she received her undergraduate degree and Masters of Divinity from Duke University. Sharon has worked for Proverbs 31 Ministries where she was a contributing writer to the ministry’s daily devotions and radio broadcasts. She has written for Relevant Magazine’s online articles, Lifeway’s Collegiate Magazine, Ungrind Webzine, and she continues to write and minister to women all over the world about being a Christian woman in an ever-changing culture. Sharon currently lives in Durham, North Carolina with her husband, who is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity at Duke Divinity School. If you would like to contact her regarding a speaking or writing opportunity, if you have any questions, or would like to submit a blog topic, please e-mail her at sharon(at)sheworships(dot)com.
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Comments (15)
These are good. Inflatables...not so much.
Meaning behind Christmas? I am working through all holidays I will destroy my competition so Christmas means victory!
actually all my lights say "made in Canada" on them because I believe in supporting my country's economy as much as possible. Though now if any of the bulbs go out I will have to buy foreign made because they stopped making them here a couple of years ago.
Also I had a penpal who worked in one of the sweatshops overseas (using her words not mine). She asked me and my family to stop supporting companies that own those factories. So we have tried to honor her request whenever possible.
If China really wanted to persecute them, the government could easily kill all of them. So while it is sad that they are forced to work factory lines, it is nevertheless a better option than death. Additionally, they are breaking the law. The People's Republic of China organizes specific churches that are "registered" and house churches are not registered. They chose to break the law.
The Bible instructs us to follow the law of man. While it would be more understandable if there was no organized Christianity in the country, house churches are illegal and the most recent persecutions were a result of the Beijing Olympics, which was a great source of national pride for the country. Christianity is a growing religion in PROC, so Christians can be smart about their choices in a country with less freedom. Undermining the government's laws is not the way to go.
I'm glad to hear that the Canadian poster is boycotting "made in China" when possible. I am shocked at the others. None of them read this story and thought, "what an amazing country we live in....where we have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, separation of church and state!" or "the plight of religious or political prisoners around the world is something we should stop and think about during this Christmas season?" Thank you for your story...it's one that should make one reflect.
@vicdaily@xanga - my bible doesn't say "follow the law of man." I suppose that you would feel perfecttly bible-abiding if your leader was Hitler and he told you to turn on those "shower heads?"
Let's no stop at Christmas lights, have you seen how many products are made in China. It's time to bring those jobs back to the states.
@nyfemme@xanga - You're supposed to follow the law of man unless it contradicts the law of God. In this case, these people are choosing to worship in a way outside the law of man instead of the alternative, law-abiding method of worship. It's not like Christianity is banned in the country, you just have to go to a registered place of worship.
Romans 13:1-7 - Paul reminds Christians that they must pay their taxes and respect worldly authority wherever possible.
1 Timothy 2:1,2 - Paul urges Timothy to pray for authorities that the believers may live peaceful lives unhindered by persecution.
Titus 3:1 - Paul encourages believers to submit to rulers and authorities and to be obedient to what is good.
1 Peter 2:13-17 - Peter echoes Paul's sentiments to show proper respect and deference to ruling authorities.
In the case of PROC, there are laws in place that glorify a country that is only now rising to power. However, in recent years, the laws have significantly relaxed regarding worship and can be followed without risking persecution.
@nyfemme@xanga - Well .. it's true. The Chinese government does oversee a "legal" church and that church has as its founding doctrines the basic beliefs of Christianity, like "the Trinity, Christ being both human and God, the Virgin Birth, Death and Resurrection and the Second Coming". Although Christians aren't allowed to be members of the ruling Communist Party (actual Party members are few and far between in China, though) they are given a legal form of worship. To what extent the government infiltrates and controls this church ... it's hard to tell, but from their founding doctrines and considering that socialism and Christianity have a lot of ethics in common, it's hard to say that "Christians" are being persecuted as much as people who don't attend the right Christian church. Which is almost as bad, but it's not like the Chinese government persecutes religion because they hate God. The fact is most mainland Chinese are very xenophobic and nationalistic and anything seen as non-indigenous is generally looked upon as subversive. Anything that doesn't fit the Confucian, authoritarian, orderly model of society makes the Party suspicious.
On that note, there has been Christianity in China for a long time, so there is plenty of indigenous liturgy for the Chinese church to draw upon. When Bush visited China he worshiped at a Three-Self Patriotic Movement church (one of the two legal Christian churches in China)
After doing a google search, it seems that this is an urban myth being promulgated by a far-right political group, Renew America, which under the pretext of the seemingly noble quote, "America must return to its founding principles if it is to survive," attempts to organize the religious right into activism with the ultimate goal of creating a theocracy. I think the average right wing Christian would do well to shun groups with such political leanings.
Even if it's not an urban myth I doubt the Chinese government has a program to give Christian pastors ironic punishments. You have to consider that there are some 1,300,000,000 people in China, and assume that if you searched far and wide enough you could find somebody who could stick their head up their own bum. (Hyperbole, of course: In the past China has been featured rather often in Ripley's Believe it or Not! columns.)
@vicdaily@xanga - As you protestant (correct?) and I am Catholic, it may be natural that we would have a different view of Jesus and what is right and what is wrong. Like other Catholics, I look toward Jesus's words and actions; we do not care so much to directly quote passages from the books of the apostles that were written many year's after Christ's death and are often misunderstood.
The most obvious contradiction to what you say is Jesus's preaching to congregations in defiance of the authorities; the less obvious (but more literal) would be Jesus healing the sick, harvesting fields, etc on the Sabbath. I'm not going to run to a bible and quote anything -- it is not necessary for me......I see his priorities were to spread the Word and make believers.
I am just stating my point of view on the topic.
@nyfemme@xanga - I'm Baptist, so yeah I believe in a very different set of principles than you do. We believe in the Bible exactly how it is written. Now everything makes more sense...lol.
@socialdemocracyforall@xanga -Good comment. I don't doubt it's a myth.
As a Catholic, I'm the first to admit know some of our preists are messed up (I don't need to supply the details, lol) , but I hate the way "Christians"/"The Christian Right" is so friggin political some times. We (Catholics) just don't get into that secular political self-righteous crap. Personally, I like the Jesus that hung out with whores, the diseased, the liers and the thiefs, and didn't have a problem breaking the "law" when it had a higher reason.
Anyway, that was a long way of saying, that's why I just commented on the theme of the post, not the specific content. Sadly, it sounds like something the far right would do....And people are very gullible so it works.
@vicdaily@xanga - Thanks for the polite response! I think you hit the "nail on the head." The literal interpretation is very important to some Christians and not others. We should certainly respect that :)
The Skit Guys made an awesome analogy with Christmas lights to your faith/love with God. It's hilarious. But definitely true.
Isn't it kind of ironic that they're in prison for preaching yet they're forced to make something celebrating what they're preaching..?