I remember making Christmas lists for Santa. Also, getting my picture made in his lap at the mall. Santa was a pretty big deal in my house as a child. Not huge. But it was big enough that I can remember wanting to go to bed really early so the morning could hurry up and I could get back up to retrieve my presents. But before I went to bed, I always remembered to leave out the milk and cookies. I just knew that jolly ol' Santa would be extremely upset without his milk and cookies.
I don't remember how the terrible news came to me that Santa wasn't real. I don't even remember how the next Christmas went. One thing is certain though, Hudson, nor any of my children will ever have to wonder what is was like. My wife and I made the joint decision to never do the whole Santa routine. You probably think I'm a jerk, a terrible father, and no fun. If you do, I hope to change your mind (or at least get you to thinking) by the end of this. If you don't do Santa either, I hope you will agree with most of what I'm about to say. Here are some of the reasons we don't do Santa:
1. I need my beauty sleep. It's not easy keeping up this charming appearance that you are blessed to see each day. It would be devastating to have to get up in the middle of the night. Santa is obviously not concerned with his figure and appearance like I am.
2. It is a lie. I know it's just being creative, using your imagination, and going with the flow, but the fact is, its simply not true. There is no Santa, no north pole, no flying reindeer, no elves, no rudolph, no toy factory, no sleigh, and no delivering toys all around the world in one night. I'm sure I left some stuff out but you get the picture. One lie leads to the next. Its not just one little lie (although that wouldn't be alright either), it's a big, elaborate system of lies........to your very own children. The ones who trust you, look up to you, and want to be just like you.
3. It breeds receiving, not contentment and not giving. Children that are at this age soak up everything like a little sponge, not just words either, but also behaviors and actions. How many letters do they write asking for more things when they already have more than they could ever play with? The Bible is very consistent on its teaching to be content and to live a life full a service and giving. In fact, Paul goes so far as to say "God loves a cheerful giver." How are we going to teach our children to be cheerful givers if all we ask them is "what would you like from Santa this year?"
4. It's message communicates the exact opposite of Christ's. Santa has two lists......the naughty list and the nice list. If you are good enough, if you behave, if you earn it, then and only then will Santa bring you presents. Otherwise you will be getting switches and coal. The consistent teaching of the Bible is that we are saved by grace through faith "and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one may boast." Children earn Santa, but in reality no one can earn Christ.
5. Santa is not biblical, if anything, he is an idol. He comes before Jesus every Christmas. How many letters have children written to Jesus? How many times have they prayed to Jesus? I would be willing to bet its no where near the number that Santa gets. How many times do children bring up Santa in conversation around Christmas? How many times do they bring up Jesus? What about you in your conversation with children and not just your own? Chances are when you see a child you never say the first word about Jesus, but its "What is Santa bringing you for Christmas this year?" It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Santa is the focus (or idol) this time of year.
6. Santa is the world's way of taking Christ out of Christmas. The world always wants to take anything having to do with Jesus out of the spotlight. The Ten Commandments, the Pledge, Tim Tebow, you name it, they want it gone. Christmas is the time of year when we celebrate the Incarnation, God "becoming flesh." He left the heavens to "dwell among men." He came "to save the world." The One who "grace and truth were realized through." What better way to distract everyone than to take the focus off of Him and onto someone who brings us anything we want if we behave. Is it not the same with Easter? A time that should be spent celebrating the Resurrection, is spent hunting for eggs laid by a rabbit! Another example of how the world takes out Christ and replaces Him with something else.
7. I don't like milk. My wife hates it when I eat a bowl of cereal and waste all that milk at the bottom. Of course I need my beauty sleep, but besides that, why would I want to disturb my beauty sleep to drink something that I don't even like?
8. Santa Claus originated from St. Nicholas. Saint Nicholas was born in the 200s in what is now the modern day country of Turkey. In his day the area was primarily Greek. His family was very wealthy. His parents died while he was at a young age. However, they were Christians and they raised him to be one who follows Christ. Upon inheriting a very large sum of money at the death of his parents, he chose not to blow it all on fancy things for himself, but rather to give all that he had to the poor, the sick, and the needy. I am certain he had James 1:27, 2:14-26, Luke 12:13-34 and many other passages in mind when set out help those in need. America has done an outstanding job of perverting what St. Nicholas intended to use to reach out as the hands and feet of Christ. I am not trying to be holy or religious by not playing Santa, just wise. I never want to hear my children say, "Dad, is Jesus like Santa? A person you just made up?" I want to hear my kids say, "We are so thankful that Jesus came down to earth and made us a way to heaven and a way to restore our relationship with God."
We still put up a tree. We still send Christmas cards. We still give gifts....even to our kids. We still have dinner with our families. The difference is we do it as we keep Christ at the center, not an old, fat man, who lives at the north pole, flies behind reindeer and only shows up one time a year.
Joshua bravely says it like this, "Fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." We are far from Egypt and the River. You don't live in the land of the Amorites, but you do live in the land of the Americans. They aren't much different from the Amorites. You have a decision to make in this land......choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve!
This made me think of a humorous article I found a couple of years ago called The Amazing Santa in a book A Theological Miscellany by T. J. McTavish. Here it is in all of its glory:
ReplyDeleteSanta Claus, in whatever local disguise is appropriate, is responsible for delivering gifts to good children on the night before Christmas. There are approximately two billion children in the world, but Santa does not handle Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, or Jehovah’s Witnesses or those from other groups that do not celebrate Christmas, leaving him with a clientele of around 378 million.
There is an average of 3.5 children per family, making 108 million homes for him to visit (assuming at least 1 good child in each). Given the rotation of the earth and different time zones, he has 31 hours to work with, making 822.6 visits per second, during each of which he has to pick the correct gifts, descend the chimney, distribute the gifts and fill the stockings, eat whatever refreshments have been set out for him, and return to his sleigh. Assuming children are evenly distributed around the earth’s landmass, he must travel approximately 75.5 million miles, while working in rest stops and time to change into the appropriate costume for the area visited.
Santa’s sleigh must carry approximately a 2-pound gift for each child, of whatever type is the current favorite for boys and girls in the visited regions. Assuming an 85 percent ratio of good children to the total, Santa’s sleigh must carry a payload of 321, 300 tons, not counting the weight of the massive sleigh nor of Santa himself, who is known to have an obesity challenge (conservative estimates place his weight at 250 pounds).
A standard reindeer can pull about half a ton; assuming that flying reindeer can pull 10 times that amount, 64, 620 reindeer are required. The average male reindeer weighs 203 pounds at this time of year, increasing the total weight of cargo and propulsion engine to 327, 822 tons. When in motion between visits, Santa and his vehicle are traveling at about 650 miles per second, or 3,000 times the speed of sound. This mass traveling at such a velocity would normally heat up through atmospheric resistance to the point of near-instantaneous vaporization. Moreover, Santa is subjected to centrifugal forces 17, 500 times that of gravity, being pinned to the back of his sleigh by around 4,315,000 pounds of force.
It’s a miracle that even good children receive any Christmas gifts at all.