Scrooge

If anyone ever said to you, "Don't be a scrooge," or, "You're a real scrooge," you may have imagined a grumpy old man who wouldn't spend a penny on anyone but himself and didn't celebrate Christmas. But if you go back and read the original A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, you'd be even more insulted.

Dickens describes Scrooge (isn't that a great name for the story?) thusly: "a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner."

Wow. That's worse that I thought.

Of course, the author in me is envious that Dickens got away with so many adjectives in our modern 'less is more mentality' (which has some definite drawbacks. But that's a gripe for another post.) However, I often wonder why, when we think of Scrooge, we think of the rotten old Scrooge and not the redeemed Scrooge. He turned his life around and made real change. He reached out to his nephew and his new wife. He began treating his employee better. He funded the medical needs of the employee’s sickly son. He made a generous donation to charity. And he became a cheerful, loving, giving man. So why don't we remember that? Maybe it's because the old Scrooge serves as a reminder of what not to be.

So the next time someone accuses you of being a Scrooge, smile and say, which one? "The new Scrooge or the old Scrooge?

During the Christmas Season, or whatever holiday you celebrate, remember the new Scrooge and go out and be a Scrooge!