Christians celebrate December 25 as the birthday of Jesus. Whether he was born on this day or not is immaterial and one need not waste time debating this. The fact is that he came into the world, as Saint Paul puts it, in the fullness of time, born of a woman, born under the law, for the purpose of redeeming those in bondage to the law, so that they may receive the adoption of sons. Because we are sons and daughters of God we can now cry, “Abba, Father.” (Galatians 4: 4-6)

Of course, it is not this solemn fact of Jesus as Saviour that grips the world at Christmas. This is not what people are preoccupied with at this time. The sexless message of salvation pales in significance when compared to the more glamorous images of secular indulgence: things to be bought, parties to be attended, food and liquor to be eaten and imbibed, the sensual nature to be satisfied, and all the other suggestions of hedonistic living to be attended to. The humbug of Christmas, then, is to deter people from these indulgences. God helps the Grinch who is so inclined.

Those who are concerned about the religious significance of Christmas can be very artful in the way they try to prevent those not so disposed from revelling in their indulgences. I believe I have been very successful in my years in ministry not to so deter people, but to urge moderation in all things. But there is a peculiar understanding of the religious significance of the season which, if it does escape those who are secularly minded, should not escape those who profess faith in Christ. Their profession of faith should not be negatively impinged upon by those who profess no such religious obligation. My attitude has been to live and let live rather than indulge the futile exercise of tearing each other apart as if one’s view of Christmas is superior to that of the other side.

Indeed, properly understood, there is something in the Christmas message to free both sides from this hubris or lack of humility. It is the humility of the son of God to be born not in the king’s palace with a herald proclaiming his birth, but to be born in a stable among the animals because there was no room in any of the inns for his mother Mary to lay him down.

To pursue this trajectory of humility, the message of his birth was not announced to the Roman or religious authorities, but to lowly, cold shepherds on a Judean hill attending to their sheep. Essentially, his life was to take this path of humility throughout his brief ministry which engaged the cross, the glory of the resurrection, and his ascension into heaven.

There is a great deal the world could learn today from the humility to be seen in the life of Christ. I cannot recall a Christmas dawning without some war, strife or conflict being waged in some part of the world. Essential to all wars is the ascendancy of hubris, where one side is slighted and the other feels an obligation to defend its honour. The civil war in Syria is being waged on the ill-fated belief of a dictator in his own invincibility. So too is the war against ISIS and al-Qaeda, whose leaders believe that they have a divine right from Allah himself to assert the sovereignty of radical Islamic belief over whole populations.

There is also something that we all could learn about the function of humility in our own personal lives. I believe the absence of humility to be at the centre of all strife and conflict in which people engage. It breaks relationships apart and drives a wedge between the governed and their governors. Marriages are cast on the rocks of divorce by the hubris of either partner thinking that his or her position is inviolate and should be acceded to by the other. Never mind that the other person has a brain and will think, whether in the conscious or the subconscious.

The judicial system is kept alive by the hubris of those who will not concede a point, who feel hurt and think the other side must pay. Lawyers become rich off the hubris of those who think their position is sacrosanct and is not open to compromise. We could go on, but I think the point is sufficiently made that humility is an essential function of healthy living. My mantra is and has always been that humility wins all the time.

So, we may never agree on whether Jesus was born on December 25 or January 6. We may never agree on how Christmas is to be celebrated. But on one thing, I believe, we can have consensus: If we live our lives being concerned more about the interests of others than being preoccupied with our own, there is room in which we can grow to a better self.

I believe that humility – not thinking of yourself more highly than you ought; acknowledging other people’s viewpoints to be at least of some importance; and being willing to decrease while allowing others to increase – is essential to this growth. I wish that this Christmas, while we drink our special drinks, that we will leave some room for a little more humility in our lives. On this note, my dear readers, I wish you a blessed, merry and peaceful Christmas.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest and social commentator. Send comments to the Observer orstead6655@aol.com.