Democratic presidential candidate and current House representative Tulsi Gabbard released a message on Christmas day that discussed the “most important” teaching of Jesus and also may have undermined most if not all of the Democratic party platform.
She opened with an observation about “some people” focusing on the circumstances of Jesus’ birth rather than the “wonderful” message that Jesus delivered to the world “and demonstrated through his life.”
“As we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, some people focus on the circumstances of his very special birth,” Gabbard began. “Others take time to remember his ultimate sacrifice on the cross. Personally, I always try to remember, on this most holy of days, the wonderful message that Jesus Christ delivered to the world and that he demonstrated through his life this message that we can be truly happy and fulfill our purpose in life when we are loving God and loving others,” she said.
The first line appears to be directed at Mayor Pete Buttigieg, an openly-gay self-professing Christian who decided to focus on the fact that Jesus was born a “refugee” when He came into the world, a take that was met with immediate backlash on Twitter.
The jab could’ve been unintentional, but Gabbard — who is considered by many to not be as far left as many of her fellow candidates — also seemed to take aim at the candy-dispenser type mentality that her competitors have. Candidates such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have promised everything from free healthcare to free education, even proposing to eliminate student loan debts from those who have already graduated from college.
“It’s easy to fall into the misconception of believing, well, we’ll be happy if we accumulate or love more material things,” Gabbard said. “But we hear it over and over again, we hear it in commercials and all around us that we’ll be really happy and we can make others happy when we love things, and that the more things we get, then the happier and more fulfilled we’ll be. But this is, of course, not true. It’s actually the exact opposite of what Jesus Christ taught us.”
While it’s conjecture that Gabbard was indeed slamming the current Democratic party platform, but what is not in question is the message she delivered paints a stark contrast between Jesus and what most democrats preach.
By constantly repeating the message that your life is not complete, fair, or otherwise healthy unless you have various material possessions, items, services, etc — it sends the message that the most important thing in life is stuff. As Gabbard points out, this is exactly the opposite of what Jesus preached.
It was a great message from Gabbard, whether or not she intended it to be a slam on what most of the current democrats are preaching.
Her own faith background is somewhat blurry, as she’s only opened up about it in recent years. Growing up in a multi-faith home, Gabbard says she was taught both the Hindu and Christian faiths, and she seems to be holding on to both in her adult life:
“I was raised in a multi-faith family studying both the Christian and Hindu scriptures. We observed Christmas and Janmastami (the birth of Jesus and the birth of Krishna). So my two primary sources of inspiration, spiritual comfort, and illumination come from the New Testament, and the Bhagavad Gita (the song of God), the ancient Hindu scripture spoken over 5000 years ago. I realized that the essence of these two great scriptures is the same, that I should have a personal and loving relationship with God and try to be pleasing to the Supreme by using my life for the wellbeing of others.”
So, while her Christmas message seems on point from a Christian perspective, Gabbard is coming at it from a different perspective than most followers of Jesus would.
Here’s the full message:
“As we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, some people focus on the circumstances of his very special birth. Others take time to remember his ultimate sacrifice on the cross. Personally, I always try to remember, on this most holy of days, the wonderful message that Jesus Christ delivered to the world and that he demonstrated through his life this message that we can be truly happy and fulfill our purpose in life when we are loving God and loving others. When Jesus was asked what was the most important teaching, Jesus explained, ‘You must love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and most important commandment. And the second is like unto it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ This message of Jesus Christ that we will be truly happy when we have deep love for God and others is universal and it’s especially important to remember today. At Christmas time, it’s so easy to forget this. It’s easy to fall into the misconception of believing, well, we’ll be happy if we accumulate or love more material things. But we hear it over and over again, we hear it in commercials and all around us that we’ll be really happy and we can make others happy when we love things, and that the more things we get, then the happier and more fulfilled we’ll be. But this is, of course, not true. It’s actually the exact opposite of what Jesus Christ taught us. So on this most special day, and every day throughout the year, it will benefit us greatly to remember and to follow Jesus Christ’s teachings and example as he shared with us this path towards real and lasting happiness, loving God and loving others. I wish you all a wonderful Christmas today and a happy new year.”