Before the Tree: Choose the King
Who actually rules your December?
NOTE: This is Part 1 of “Before the Tree: Four pre-Christmas decisions that change how you do December.”
Link to Part 2—Choose the Simple.
Link to Part 3—Choose the Gift.
Link to Part 4—Choose the Forgotten.
The tree goes up.
The calendar fills.
The packages stack.
And then sometime in January, you look around and realize you’re tired, you’re in the red, and you’re weirdly disappointed. Again.
So you say the same line you said last year: “Next year, we’re doing Christmas different.”
And then… you don’t.
Because nothing really changes before the tree goes up.
We decorate first. We spend first. We say yes to everything first. Then we ask God to “bless our Christmas.”
This little Daily Five series is about flipping that order.
Before the tree, before the travel, before the chaos kicks in:
Decision #1: Choose the King.
Not “choose a Christmas vibe.”
Not “choose family time.”
Not “choose tradition.”
Choose Jesus as the actual King of your December.
Who’s really sitting on the throne of your December?
We’d say Christmas is about Jesus.
But if you zoomed out on our actual lives, December often looks like something else is in charge.
Sometimes it’s the kids or grandkids on the throne—every schedule choice, every dollar, every ounce of emotional energy orbiting their expectations.
Sometimes it’s the perfect experience on the throne—if one thing goes wrong, the whole month “is ruined.”
Sometimes it’s the budget on the throne—spreadsheet open, constant low-grade panic.
Sometimes it’s other people’s opinions—what will they think if we don’t do ___ this year?
We don’t usually reject Jesus. We just quietly demote Him.
We’re not atheists; we’re just… December polytheists. There’s a whole little pantheon:
We offer the sacrifice of time to nostalgia, money to Amazon, peace to family pressure, and sanity to people-pleasing—then ask Jesus to bless it all.
But in Scripture, Christmas doesn’t start that way.
Christmas starts with a King, not a vibe
Before angels filled the sky, before shepherds ran, before wise men traveled, there was a teenage girl in a nowhere town.
Mary gets the news: You will carry a Son. He will be great. He will be called the Son of the Most High. He will sit on David’s throne. His kingdom will never end.
That’s throne language. Kingdom language. Not “holiday inspiration.” Not “a new god to add to the list.”
Her response is basically two sentences:
“My soul magnifies the Lord…” (Luke 1:46)
“Let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
Translated:
“You’re God. I’m not.”
“You lead. I’ll follow.”
That’s what it looks like to choose the King.
Christmas isn’t God offering us a seasonal boost. It’s God announcing: “The real King has arrived. You don’t sit on the throne. I do.”
The question isn’t, “Is Jesus part of our Christmas?”
The question is, “Does He get the throne or not?”
You will worship something this December
Ecclesiastes 3 says God has set eternity in our hearts. There is something in you that knows there’s more. You are built to worship.
Which means: you will crown something this month.
If you don’t worship Jesus, you won’t worship nothing—you’ll just redirect it. You’ll worship comfort. You’ll worship control. You’ll worship the next purchase, or the way the photos will look online.
Worship is not just what you sing to.
Worship is what your life is bowing toward.
“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice… this is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1)
Whatever gets your best energy, your biggest sacrifices, your deepest trust—that’s your king.
So be honest: If you pulled your December apart by time, money, and mental bandwidth… who’s actually getting treated like a king? What’s getting your worship?
How your heart bows
We don’t only worship when life feels good. We worship in three very different places.
1. When life is good
Sometimes worship is just the natural response to blessing.
You look around and think, How did I get this life? Healthy kids (even if they’re annoyingly loud). Friends. A church. A job. Breath.
The right response isn’t guilt; it’s gratitude.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy… The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad. (Psalm 126:2-3)
If December is a high point for you this year, aim your joy upward. Don’t just enjoy the gifts; deliberately thank the Giver.
2. When life is heavy
Other times, worship feels like the last thing you want to do. You drag yourself to church. You stare at the tree and feel… nothing. Or worse than nothing. The Bible doesn’t pretend those seasons don’t exist:
“Why, my soul, are you downcast?… Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him.” (Psalm 42:5)
That’s worship as defiance.
It’s not “Yay, everything’s fine.” It’s “Everything hurts… and I’m still choosing You.”
Sometimes choosing the King sounds less like, “Joy to the world!” and more like, “Jesus, I’m not okay, but I’m not leaving.”
3. When grace just floors you
And then there are moments when you’re just… stunned.
A lyric finally says what your heart’s been trying to say.
A verse you’ve read a hundred times lands like it was written this morning, to you.
You get this quiet, clear sense: He really sees me. Here. Now.
That’s worship too.
You weren’t forgotten. The King who runs the universe showed up in a manger, then on a cross, then in your mess. Letting your heart actually feel that—and respond—is part of choosing Him.
How “Choose the King” Changes December
Here’s where this stops being a nice thought and actually touches your calendar.
1. Put Him on the calendar first
Look at your December calendar. Actually look at it.
Before you add anything else, block off weekly worship with your church and one pocket of unhurried time with God each week.
Treat those like you would any other important appointment. Don’t wedge them in around everything else; let everything else move around them.
If the King only gets leftover time, you already know who’s actually ruling your December.
2. Ask one dangerous question
Pray this, slowly: “Jesus, what needs to change about the way I do Christmas so I can worship You more fully this year?”
Then sit with it for a minute.
If something specific comes to mind—a tradition, an expense, an expectation, a pace—don’t explain it away. Write it down. That’s likely the throne He’s actually coming for.
3. Build a tiny “crowning” habit
Pick one small, repeatable way to re-crown Jesus every day this season.
It could be as simple as a first word / last word habit:
Morning – “Jesus, You’re King. This day is Yours.”
Night – “Jesus, You’re still King. Even after a messy day.”
Or every time you go to buy something or put something on the calendar, you ask: “God, will this lead me to worship you more fully this Christmas?” Maybe when you walk past your nativity, whisper: “You, not me.”
Corny? Maybe. But tiny, repeated choices slowly pull the crown off other things and put it back where it belongs.
One question to carry into today
If you stripped away the language and just watched your life…
Who would your December say is King?
The tree will go up.
The calendar will get full.
The pressure will come.
Before all of that, you get to choose.
Not a perfect December.
Not a pain-free December.
Just this:
Before the tree goes up, I’m choosing the King.
What’s one concrete way you can do that today?
Name it. Write it down. Tell someone. Then go do it.
PS — If this served you, consider becoming a paid subscriber to fund the book I’m working on and get extras (printables, verse cards, discussion guides, subscriber-only articles, and more). Thank you for fueling this work.
So good! Yes, let's Choose the King!