You bring your Christmas tree home, only to find it crawling with ants and a bird's nest in the branches, so you…

a. Light the whole tree on fire and throw it in your neighbor’s yard.
b. Storm back to the tree farm, demanding a refund.
c. Use it as an opportunity to teach the kids about wildlife and nature.
d. Make a jelly sandwich for the ants, and set the bird free in a glorious meadow, whilst humming a happy Christmas carol.

If you chose "a" or "b," you may have a serious case of humbugitis. The cure, you ask? A good, solid dose of life lessons from our fictional friend, Ebenezer Scrooge...

Life Lesson #2: We cannot always control what happens, but we can control our response to what happens.

"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness,” (Matthew 6:22).

Ebenezer Scrooge really terrible things happen to him early in his life. They were issues beyond his control -circumstances he never asked for or expected. Ebenezer assumed that there was only one way to respond: bitter anger. He saw all of life through the lens of injustice and pain.

Right now, we are facing things in our lives that are beyond our control, but we don't have to view life in the same way as Ebenezer Scrooge. We can respond to life's adversity with prayer, faith and confidence in God’s goodness. We can choose to respond to hardship in a way that is constructive and beneficial. We can know that our God identifies with us in challenging times and that He's here to help (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Looking for more insight from the life lessons of Mr. Scrooge? Join us this weekend at Champions Centre...