It’s the job of a newspaper to focus on the ways of the world. Government, crime, education, business, sports, land use issues — the nuts and bolts of our community.

Those topics, which impact all our lives, are certainly worthy of scrutiny. But sometimes it’s also nice to turn away from the world for a short while and consider our lives through a wider lens.

Fortunately, Christmas gives us that opportunity.

To spend any time pondering the meaning of Christmas, you have to cast your mind back more than 2,000 years. That exercise alone puts many of the “big problems” of today into context. Two millennia ago, a woman was trying to find a place to give birth to her child. Turned away at every inn, she finally found refuge in a manger. In those humble surroundings, she brought a child into the world who changed it forever.

One of the lessons of Christmas is that the simplest, most human actions often carry the greatest consequences. We can sit in offices debating the price of gasoline or the state of the real estate market, but in the greater scheme of things, isn’t it far more important to spend time with your children, love your spouse, support your family and serve your community?

Christmas is about our shared humanity too. Although the world often encourages us to promote the interests closest to us and our pocketbook, we can use this holiday to remember that our lives truly are interconnected. There is still a general good to be striven for, and it often has little to do with the hot issues of the day. Mankind’s basic problems have not changed much in 2,000 years. But Christ’s example shows us a way through those problems. All that’s required is that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

This Christmas, let’s take time to take stock of our human progress. Let’s celebrate the miracle of our shared humanity. The way of the world will preoccupy us again once the holidays are over, but for a few quiet days we have an opportunity to focus on what’s really important in life.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.