My Kids Won't Confuse God and Santa? Will They? - Reason #2 Why We Don't Do Santa

Reason #2 Why We Don't Do Santa: 
 
Can I tell my children about one benevolent, gift-giving, invisible man that is a lie, then expect them to believe me when I tell them about another?
 
"Little Timmy, there is a man, he is compassionate and kind. He loves to give children good gifts. He is the center of Christmas. He lives in the north pole. He can only be seen one day a year when he comes to give gifts. Although you may never see him, there have been witnesses. Just believe and he will also come and give you gifts! His name is Santa!"
 
"Little Timmy, there is a man, He is compassionate and kind. He loves to give the free gift of eternal life. He is the reason for Christmas. He lives in Heaven with His Father. He has been seen on earth when He came as a man 2000 years ago. Although you many never see him, there have been witnesses to His life and death. Repent of your sins and trust in His perfect sacrificial life and He will come live in you and give you the best and truly everlasting gift! His name is Jesus Christ!"
 
Then one day, inevitably, Little Timmy will ask the dreaded question, "Mom, Dad, is Santa real?"
 
When we tell our kids the truth about Santa, they may feel lied to, they may feel like it is just the end to a fun game, but either way we will have to earn the trust back that it will take them to believe us about the real gift-giver, Jesus.
 
Here is my Santa vs. Jesus post from last year:

"I often need proding from my Father to serve others. I am often ashamed of my begrudging attitude towards helping others when God reveals later that through serving He is meeting my needs! How is it that God knows our every need? How is it that He blesses us regardless of our behavior? How is it that He doesn't withold His love and compassion when I don't deserve it?

That is what makes God different than Santa Claus. Santa says that "he's making a list and checking it twice, he's gonna find out who's naughty and nice....so be good for goodness sake." God says He has already found out who is naughty (all have sinned Romans 3:23) and nice (none are righteous Romans 3:10). Santa says we MUST be good. God says we cannot be good. Blessings from Santa come from working hard to be good. Blessings from God come from no work we can do on our own (Titus 3:5). Santa requires. God gives freely (Romans 6:23). God knew there was no way to do enough good to earn His favor. God knew that every lie, every lust, every selfish thought, every crime we commited would require a payment that couldn't be paid by receiving coal. God knew that we couldn't be good, but He planned to give us a gift anyway. He sent His perfect Son to pay the price of our crimes, to die in our place so that we can live eternally in heaven with our giving Father (John 3:16).



Our family doesn't celebrate Santa, it is too hard to earn his favor. Our family celebrates Jesus this season, one who earned the favor of God in a way we never could, and allows God's blessings to flow regardless of our behavior. St. Nicholas knew this as he served this Jesus, leading him to sell all he owned so that the poor and needy would receive a gift on Christmas, just as he did 2000 years ago. The true gift, the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ." Posted on the blog 12/24/12

Even more importantly, with kids coming from hard places, if you lie about anything, watch out. They don't trust you about anything in the first place!


Posted by Shannon
Soli Deo gloria - Glory to God alone 

Lying in the Name of Fun is Okay? Right? - Reason #1 Why We Don't Do Santa

Reason #1 Why We Don't Do Santa:
Our family has, personally, chosen not to lie to our kids about ANYTHING! EVER!

We don't lie to them about where they came from with fun stork stories. We don't lie to them by hiding the miracle workings of their reproductive systems yet teach them about all the other bodily systems. We don't lie to them about a rich, little tooth-collecting fairy that brings money for their teeth. We don't lie to them about an enormous rabbit that drops off a free gift chocolate and toys first thing Easter morning to steal the light and glory from the one who died for the sins of the world, was resurrected and gave the true gift of eternal life.

And we don't lie about good ol' Santa Claus who makes Christmas revolve around him. 

We do spend some time each December researching and learning about the work and devotion to Jesus of the real man, St. Nicholas. We also teach our kids to honor others and to not "ruin" the fun that their parents have lied so hard to set up. Our kids love Christmas, it is a magical time of year. A worship-filled time of year. A time we remember the humble beginnings of our serving Savior and remember the gift that He gave His life for us to receive. I agree and wanted to share a blog post that I enjoyed.


The following is taken from The Matt Walsh Blog:

"Santa Claus.

He is a legend, a myth, a fable.

I hope this isn’t breaking news.

Now, when a myth is passed off as fact, it becomes something else: a lie. In many households, Santa is a lie. He’s fun, he’s jolly, he owns gravity-defying reindeer and enslaves thousands of tiny elves in his icy dungeon; he’s overweight (probably because he eats billions of cookies every Christmas), and he isn’t familiar with laws against trespassing and home invasion. He’s also a lie.

He isn’t just a “story.” Stories — fictional stories — have an ending. They are contained in books and television shows and movies. We do not weave an elaborate web of deceit to convince our children that Snow White really exists, or that Mickey is an accurate portrayal of how mice really behave. If they ask us about the geographical location of Neverland, we’ll tell them Neverland is just imaginary.

We like for our kids to have imaginations, but Santa has nothing to do with imagination. When you imagine, you conceive a thing that isn’t. With Santa, a child is simply duped into believing a thing that isn’t. Santa is a mythology that we force feed down their throats, and then go to great lengths to preserve. Again, it’s called “lying,” not “imagination building.”

Lie: a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood.

He’s an entertaining, fanciful, merry ol’ lie — but he’s a lie all the same.

I’m often informed that Santa isn’t a “lie,” per se, because he’s “just for fun.”

Well, he might be, but the opposite of “lie” isn’t fun — it’s “truth.”

Is Santa true? No. Do you know he isn’t true? Yes. So what do you call it when you attempt to convince someone of an untruth? Fun? OK, but it’s a fun… what? A fun lie.

Look, my own mom and dad “did the Santa thing.” They’re great parents and fantastic people, so I’m not making any judgments about parents who “do Santa.” You could be perfectly wonderful, loving, and caring, and still participate in this holiday fraud.

But I think it might be time to reconsider the practice.

Yes, it’s a longstanding tradition, but not all traditions are worth continuing. Take, for example, Santa’s evil cousin: the Bogeyman. In many cultures, parents used to tell their kids that the Bogeyman would come to their room at night and eat them alive if they didn’t behave. Depending on the country, sometimes he would kidnap you and make you his slave, and other times he would just cannibalize you upfront. There have been many variations — and, hey, do your own thing with it, have fun — but they all shared the common “do what I say or a mythical beast will brutalize you in unspeakable ways” message.

There’s a lot that past generations got right about parenting. This isn’t one of them.

Certainly, Santa Claus is far more pleasant than the Bogeyman, but I submit that they are both relics of a time when it was acceptable to coerce your children with mystical scare tactics.

Maybe we should move on.

I don’t intend to write a lengthy refutation of every pro-Santa argument; I’m already devoting enough space as it is to this gluttonous stalker. I’d like to specifically address only one point on the Santa platform. I hear it all the time, and it goes like this: Santa makes Christmas magical. If you take Santa away from your kid, you’ve taken all the fun out of the holiday.

Please, carry on with the Kris Kringle schtick for whatever reason you like, but not this one. Any reason but this reason. Santa makes Christmas magical? SANTA?

This is what I hate about the guy. He’s a Christmas-stealing glory hog. He’s a diva; everything has to be about him, doesn’t it?

We invite Santa to Jesus Christ’s birthday party, he brings his stupid elves and a bag full of cheap toys, next thing you know it’s his party. If he leaves, apparently the party’s over. How can we have fun without magic?

Well, you know, there’s still Jesus. The Messiah. The Son of Man. Jesus Christ is better than magical. He offers something far greater than toys. He doesn’t have flying deer, but he has armies of angels. He doesn’t live in a cabin up in the North Pole, but He does live in a dimension that transcends time and space, and He invites us to join Him there in unending bliss. He doesn’t visit every house on Christmas night, but He’s always present, everywhere, all the time, because He is an omniscient deity.

In other words, Jesus is WAY cooler than Santa. This is a message that is, I think, tragically lost on many children. Let’s be honest: Christmas ain’t big enough for the both of them. Santa, the fun fictional character? Sure. Santa, the silly game of make believe? Yeah, he can join the festivities without overshadowing the Man of the Hour. But Santa, the actual real person who gives out toys made by elves? THAT Santa, being a man of considerable girth, tends to crowd Jesus out of the hearts of many kids. Yeah, Jesus is the Messiah, but Santa has TOYS. Who comes out on top in that scenario when you’re 4 years old?

Some children are so full of natural grace that even a pudgy mystical gift giver can’t distract them from Jesus. But normal kids — kids that are closer to how I was as a child — will find their allegiances split. I can’t believe that I’m the first 5 year old who impatiently sat through church on Christmas Eve, ignoring all of the stuff about nativities and wise men; entirely engrossed in visions of reindeer, elves, Santa Claus, and Game Boys (it was the 90′s, kids).

Why do we need to spruce up the Birth of God by adding some nonsense about a fat guy in a red suit? God, the Ultimate Power in the universe, sent His Son to Earth. He was conceived inside a woman’s womb and was born into this world in the same manner that all humans are born. He walked among us, performed miracles, healed the sick, raised the dead. He was murdered and then came back from the grave, and He now sits on His throne, at the right hand of God the Father. On Christmas, we celebrate His arrival, and the beginning of the epic journey that ended with Christ’s triumph over sin and death. He watches over us at all hours, every day, all year, for our whole lives, and offers us healing, comfort, and salvation. His angelic armies protect us as they battle the forces of evil, and He wants us all to join in that fight; a fight that will be won, once and for all, at the End of Time, when He returns in glory.

Now, tell me how Santa makes THAT more magical?

Santa, the Christmas Lie, is but a whimper and a sigh in the light of Jesus, the Christmas Truth. He can’t bring anything to the table that Jesus hasn’t already provided.

So do Santa if you want to do Santa, but you don’t need him to make Christmas magical.

Christmas is already more than magical — it’s supernatural." --  The Matt Walsh Blog

Even more importantly, with kids coming from hard places, if you lie about anything, watch out. They don't trust you about anything in the first place!


Posted by Shannon
Soli Deo gloria - Glory to God alone