I don't need an American consumerism gimmick to tell me when to love my wife.

Today I subbed in a high school.  It was excessive.  Obnoxious even.  There were huge balloons and teddy bears and candy all over the place.  There were tables set up in the halls selling cookies and junk.  I could only shook my head.  Seriously?   We are still doing this?

Have you ever met someone who thinks they are God's gift to the world but are completely oblivious to the unintelligent things they do/say/etc?   To me, that's America.  I feel like that's how other countries look at the US.  Cheerleading, valentines day and fast food drive thrus are just the start. Only in America can you get a pizza to your house faster than an ambulance, do we put our nice cars in the driveway while our garage is full of junk, do we clap in movie theaters. Okay I'm getting off topic.  

To me, valentines day is the same as new years resolutions: you should already have goals. You shouldn't wait for a calendar to make you say, 'hey I better think about/write down what I want to strive for in life.' And the 14th of February is no different. I think you should already be showing your wife/girlfriend/significant other how special they are to you everyday. In my opinion it's asinine to wait for a day to validate that, simply because everyone else is.  Jesus would have no part in dumb American traditions if He were around today.  

Now I know some of you will think something along the lines of, 'well Mills, you're just mad you don't even have a date.' I think that is as predictable as the nice restaurants and flower shops that will be making bank off the gimmick that is mid-February.  You counter with, 'let me know how that works out for you with Mrs. Mills.'  I say, I don't want a girl whose emotions need to be kept afloat with material objects and 'celebrating' a gimmick.  The type of girl that appeals to me is confident in who she is and doesn't want/need valentines day.  

But it's not just valentines day.  I've more or less pretty much adopted a Jehovah's Witness standpoint towards most holidays. I think it is good to get together and see family and I don't mind Thanksgiving. I think it's good to remember Jesus birth and sacrifice on Christmas and Easter. But any other 'holiday' and how we have warped the previously mentioned ones, is not something I'm on board with at all, birthdays included.  

The poorest 5% of Americans are still better off than 2/3 of the rest of the world. If you make $20,000 a year, after taxes, you're among the top 5% of the richest people on earth. Are we seriously and honestly just going to keep blowing that on ourselves, on each other, buying things people don't need and can do without? Christmas is the perfect opportunity to take care of our neighbors, at home and abroad. Jesus calls us to feed his sheep. How can we justify buying more gifts, that you usually will forget you even have in a couple months/years, when there are people who don't have anything to eat today? To me it's a no-brainer. We actually complain that we have too much stuff.

What do christmas trees, stockings, lights, easter eggs, halloween costumes, fireworks, candy hearts, etc. have to do with anything? What's the point of doing something solely because we did it last year and the year before at this time? And who cares if you are one year older? Why would I want to devote a whole day to myself? Americans will make up any reason to party. It's pretty dumb if you think about it. We congratulate people on their birthday as if they actually did something, besides managed not to die for 365 more days.

From the outset, a negative rant was not necessarily my intention. I just think in American society, our focus/vision gets clouded by way toooo many things that don't matter. I think it's important to streamline our lives and trim away the fat, the useless ways we spend our time and money. There is no time to waste. We need to answer His call now.

What you are is God’s gift to you; what you do with yourself is your gift to God.
    -Danish proverb