Every Christmas my church, Calvary Chapel Ft.Lauderdale, has a huge sign in Christmas lights on their property that says ‘Calvary Chapel Says Jesus Is The Reason For The Season’. I love it because the church is on a main road which gets a lot of traffic so the sign gets a lot of visibility. I pray and hope that when the motorist drive by and read that sign that it helps them put Christmas back into perspective. Perhaps they will stop and give thanks for the birth of our Savior. Hopefully their children will read the sign and ask what it means. But what answer will these small children be given? If they are not Christians who knows what their parents will say.
What about us Christians? What are we telling our children about Christmas? Is our children’s faith in Jesus or in Santa? Perhaps their hope and faith are in both. Is this right or are we in error?
I don’t know about you, but as for me and my household we will serve the Lord. We serve a jealous God who has said, “You may worship no other god than me.” (Exodus 20:3) By teaching your children to make their requests known to Santa, teaching them that he is “all knowing”, “always present”, “all powerful”, and the giver of good gifts you are putting in their mind that he is a god. You are leading these small children down the wrong path telling them that Santa knows when they are sleeping, he knows when their awake, he knows if they’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake. Santa-Clause to a child is an exact representative of God to an adult.
Imagine how hurt and confused your child will feel when they find out the truth that Santa is not real, that he is just a myth, a fairytale. The truth will be that you have spent the past several years misleading and lying to your own children. Have we forgotten that the Word of God says that no liar will inherit the kingdom of heaven? (Revelation 21:8)
Our children trust us to lead them down the right path honestly and carefully. Lying to them and teaching them to believe in this false god is cruel and inconsiderate to the child because we know that the day will come that you will have to burst their bubble by telling them that Santa is not real. This could destroy their faith. This may hinder their trusting Jesus Christ because they may be afraid that one day they may be told that Jesus is not real, that he is just a myth, and a fairytale. You may be causing your own children to stumble and lose faith.
Jesus said, “But if any of you causes one of these little ones who trusts in me to lose his faith it would be better for you to have a rock tied to your neck and be thrown into the sea.” (Matthew 18:6) As parents we will be held accountable by our Lord for how we have affected our children “these little ones” ability to trust. Jesus has warned us that there would be severe punishment for leading them down the wrong path.
Let us be good stewards of our children. We owe it to them to teach them the true meaning of Christmas. It is not about Santa, his reindeers, and elves. Santa is not the gift giver. Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from our heavenly Father. (James 1:17) It is because of His provision that we are able to bless our children and family with gifts during the holiday. He is the one that meets our every need.
Jesus is the reason for the season. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who was born to die for us. This is what our children need to know, the TRUTH.
What about us Christians? What are we telling our children about Christmas? Is our children’s faith in Jesus or in Santa? Perhaps their hope and faith are in both. Is this right or are we in error?
I don’t know about you, but as for me and my household we will serve the Lord. We serve a jealous God who has said, “You may worship no other god than me.” (Exodus 20:3) By teaching your children to make their requests known to Santa, teaching them that he is “all knowing”, “always present”, “all powerful”, and the giver of good gifts you are putting in their mind that he is a god. You are leading these small children down the wrong path telling them that Santa knows when they are sleeping, he knows when their awake, he knows if they’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake. Santa-Clause to a child is an exact representative of God to an adult.
Imagine how hurt and confused your child will feel when they find out the truth that Santa is not real, that he is just a myth, a fairytale. The truth will be that you have spent the past several years misleading and lying to your own children. Have we forgotten that the Word of God says that no liar will inherit the kingdom of heaven? (Revelation 21:8)
Our children trust us to lead them down the right path honestly and carefully. Lying to them and teaching them to believe in this false god is cruel and inconsiderate to the child because we know that the day will come that you will have to burst their bubble by telling them that Santa is not real. This could destroy their faith. This may hinder their trusting Jesus Christ because they may be afraid that one day they may be told that Jesus is not real, that he is just a myth, and a fairytale. You may be causing your own children to stumble and lose faith.
Jesus said, “But if any of you causes one of these little ones who trusts in me to lose his faith it would be better for you to have a rock tied to your neck and be thrown into the sea.” (Matthew 18:6) As parents we will be held accountable by our Lord for how we have affected our children “these little ones” ability to trust. Jesus has warned us that there would be severe punishment for leading them down the wrong path.
Let us be good stewards of our children. We owe it to them to teach them the true meaning of Christmas. It is not about Santa, his reindeers, and elves. Santa is not the gift giver. Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from our heavenly Father. (James 1:17) It is because of His provision that we are able to bless our children and family with gifts during the holiday. He is the one that meets our every need.
Jesus is the reason for the season. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who was born to die for us. This is what our children need to know, the TRUTH.
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7 comments:
I admire you for this follow-up. We must provide truth in its entirety, and that's what you've lovingly done here. Great job!
Bonnie
extendedhope.com
I'm obviously getting caught up here :) I've very much enjoyed the words of your last three posts.
Jesus said, “But if any of you causes one of these little ones who trusts in me to lose his faith it would be better for you to have a rock tied to your neck and be thrown into the sea.” (Matthew 18:6)
Man! What a tremendous scripture this is! May we, as parents, be mindful of these word every day of our lives. Thank you.
Bonnie
extendedhope.com
Thanks for your comments Bonnie. I have to right what the Lord puts on my heart. We all know that it is the Truth that sets us free.
That scripture is serious. I definetely started to evaluate myself and how I parent. I want my children to grow and know the Lord and love Him. I long for them to know His ways and His Word. That should be our desire as parents.
Thanks again for your comments and encouraging words.
God bless you sister.
You attend Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale? Cool! My parents visited that church one time when they used to live in Miami, and I have a friend who used to belong to that church. I have watched the Pastor of that church preach on TV several times. I used to attend a Calvary Chapel church in Ocala.
Your post spoke volumes of Truth.
When my second child was born(who is now 15) her dad and I decided that we weren't going to play the Santa game.
We didn't want her to look at anything else during this season.We wanted her eyes and heart to be fixed on Jesus.
You are so right about being accountable for our(HIS)children. Many of my friends don't understand the boundries we have put around our daughter...but God does!
I came over from my friend's blog,Bonnie.
In his Grace,
Tammy
Yes..Jeff. Calvary Chapel Ft.Lauderdale is my home church. I really enjoy Pastor Bob's teachings. In fact all of the pastors are great. I enjoy being part of church that is so involved in so many different outreaches.
Thanks for your comment Tammy..It's always a pleasure.
We suffer critcism from some friends and family, but we don't care because we know that we have to teach our children the Truth. That is our main concern. I have learned that I need to care more about what our Lord says than what others say.
Thanks for your comment..
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