It’s time for another widespread boycott. I’m talking about massive outrage expressed all over conservative talk radio and Fox News. There has not been any mention of this anywhere in the media, so I feel compelled to help all of them find another worthy subject to discuss other than Obamacare.

I speak of course of a notable entry in the Easter candy department this year – ladies and gentlemen, may I present…the chocolate cross. It is insufficient to only have huge chocolate bunnies and eggs with ridiculously fake grass in huge wicker baskets. There is no such thing as lines crossed when it comes to merchandising each and every Christianity based holiday. After all, look how much we have learned to accept about the commercialization of Christmas.

The entire retail industry bases its success or failure as businesses on the Christmas shopping season.  They are intentional about this.  The birth of Christ has turned into one heck of a capitalistic success story. There is a whole category of merchandise consisting of Christmas related items – ugly Christmas sweaters, anyone?  So we have Christmas dinnerware and flatware, placemats, an inflatable Claus family, and other such things to purchase for our homes.  We have succeeded in divorcing Christmas from the birth of Christ.

It is the oldest of saws to decry this as part of the war on Christmas, or to talk endlessly about how the evil have ruined the whole holiday by selling nativity sets or trees or by not saying “Merry Christmas” to each and every one of their patrons.    This is not my opinion.  I believe Christmas became a secular holiday a long time ago, and that ship has gone way far from the shore at this point.

Christianity is a lifestyle that does not depend on sanction by the media, by the culture, or by the retail industry.   We choose to celebrate the birth of Christ and remember it in our own way.  If we choose to participate in the traditions that our culture has created for us, as long as these traditions do not require a betrayal of our faith, I see nothing wrong with participating in them. However, I think it is appropriate to ask that we are given proper respect by those with different views.

Which brings me and my long-winded self back to the chocolate crosses….

All these holidays including Easter do have some secular basis.  I do not intend to go into the reasons why bunnies and eggs are relevant to the season, but it is not too hard to figure out if you really care about the whole history of that holiday.  They do not, of course, have a single thing to do with the death and resurrection of Christ, but they sure do taste good.  These are additions to the holiday we have learned to accept.

There should be lines where Easter commercialization should end.  Chocolate crosses cross the line of what is acceptable for us.  We have already trivialized the meaning of Easter so much, but the cross is a serious affair. It is the whole basis of our faith – that Christ died and rose again so that we can have a relationship with Him.  He suffered and died on that cross.  It should be precious to us.  We should respect the cross enough not to make candy out of it.  Spirituality has been watered down in this culture, and we must choose to walk the hard path and stand for truth.

Boycotts don’t achieve anything.  A life that stands in respect and devotion to that cross means far more to the culture in which it exists. So let us rise above the culture and make this our ambition if we belong to Christ.