The Christmas season is fast approaching. As other’s around me in newspaper were doing different articles on Christmas related topics, I wondered what I should do. I realized that I wanted to write something that would make this Christmas season an even better one for each of us. I started to observe those around me and I finally decided. For my article this month I performed an experiment at Rocky Mountain High School. Experimentation is used to test existing theories or to prove or disprove a hypothesis. My hypothesis was this: "Teenagers are more concerned about trivial matter and are more self-absorbed than adults." After asking students and teachers at random I was surprised at the results produced.
I asked these questions of all those I interviewed. "At this point in your life, what are you most concerned about? What do you think about when you are just thinking? What worries you?" The answers I received were wide and varying. Students expressed fear and concern about college and the pressures of getting into one. One young man told me, "Girls. I think about girls." When questioned a teacher said, "I am concerned at the lack of compassion human’s show to one another." These two questions supported my hypothesis perfectly, that young people were more concerned about themselves and what makes them happy, rather than what they can do to make others happy. Then I was blown away by what a different young man answered. He told me his main concern right now in his life was preparing himself to be a better servant of God. The unselfishness of his answer caused me to contemplate what would make him say that. Why would he want to do that? Having spent time with this particular person I reflected on what I already knew about him. I had seen how he interacted with others and seen how he actively tried to be friendly and make them happy. I concluded his selflessness was a result of years of trying to become more caring and loving.
We live in a world where greed dominates all we do. Selfish people manipulate others to gain unfairly, for their own benefit for their own desires? How many people pose as credit card companies and con elderly people out of their money? What is their purpose to it all? The only things they stand to gain are the things they want.
A young man in our school is a primary example to me of how serving others, and not just ourselves, can change a life. He told me the story of being part of a group that went to an elderly women’s home cleaned her yard, moved things she couldn’t, and winterized her windows for her. Before departing they sang her a song. He said seeing her face changed the way he felt about service. "I felt happy when I realized I was doing something for someone that they couldn’t do for themselves." It touched me to see tears in his eyes as I heard him tell of his experience. Never before had I seen him cry. I didn’t expect to see him cry. But even though he is smart and very athletic, he wasn’t above serving others. It is not my intention share a sob story to appeal to your emotional side, but to demonstrate what real, selfless service is.
What is the spirit we feel at Christmastime? It is His spirit—the spirit of Christ. The Christmases we remember best generally have little to do with worldly goods, but a lot to do with families, with love, and with compassion and caring. The Savior gave freely to all. And His gifts were of value beyond measure."
