Obviously, by the title of my blog you might already know that there is no way we can actually cover every single aspect of all three of these characters. As Christians there is always the question how should we involve ourselves with the aspects of holidays the world thinks are simply normal and right, yet there is a taint of Biblical compromise within them. When it comes to drawing a line in the sand and we as Christians were to have to make a choice between Santa Claus and Jesus there is no question we would all choose Christ. If we had a gun to our head and the question was do you serve the Easter Bunny or Christ, we would in a heartbeat give our very lives for the belief in and the faith in Jesus Christ. Too often there is a subliminal line drawn in the sand that we don't think about crossing.
In the Bible we are commanded to "abstain from the very appearance of evil". I Thessalonians 5:22. In I John 2:15 we are told to "be in the world but not of the world". So we use those Scriptures and try and determine whether our kids should go trick or treating or whether they can sit on Santa's lap or hide Easter eggs in the spring. It is a very touchy and very difficult thing to explain to our children at times. We can say dogmatically that it isn't, but it is. Our kids may not say it when they are kids but they are wondering why we do what we do. Proverbs 22:6 is clear, "Train a child up in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it". We have been very hypocritical in some ways, however, I think we have not completed our "training" so to speak. For example: No matter what music comes on our radios, secular or Christian, we have always tried to teach our children and encourage them to stay away from the kinds of music that can wrongly influence you. I happen to be listening to a "Kenny G" CD at this very moment but I also don't happen to personally care for Kenny's long hair he is pictured with on the cover of the CD. However, that doesn't stop me from listening to the most soothing beautifully played music in the world. We teach our children if a song comes on that is inappropriate then turn it off. I personally like Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" but he also has some drinking and carousing songs I don't like so I turn them off. I know I have just laid myself open to be criticized but before you do let me put all of our hypocrisy into perspective. Where do you shop for groceries? Think about it. Is it the supermarket or the established grocery chain? In either one you will find that they sell wine, beer or liquor and in both places they sell magazines that are very offensive to Christians belief in modesty. Now my point, if someone is going to be so dogmatic on one point, be careful we are not being hypocritical in another. Hopefully we don't most likely purchase these items but we shop there regularly and probably are paying the mortgage each month on the money we spend there. (laugh) I've got two other hypocritical things we do and yet we criticize someone else for an entirely different thing as it relates to one of these observed holidays. One is, do you know someone who is a Christian but works on Sunday and that same person will criticize someone for observing Christmas with Santa Claus. Working on Sunday used to be a "sin". Do you and I go out for lunch on Sunday and we keep the businesses operating because we pay our money and frequent them every week, are we not being hypocritical by doing so when if we didn't they could be in church.
What opinions I have just described to you are not my own. I go out to eat on Sundays and I purchase groceries at places that sell things I do not approve of. I believe it is a far cry from being "like" the world as some people would suggest. I believe we must be careful before we start trying to legislate righteousness on the basis of this is what I think. Better yet, we can't even keep the things we say we believe. We are buying gasoline at places that sell cigarettes so does that mean we are in sin? I believe not. So back to how do we decide whether to be involved in Halloween and Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
There is a clear mandate in scripture to stay completely away from the evil spirit world. Yes, when I was a kid I went to haunted houses and really didn't care for them though. I never have liked the slasher movies and they too can be on the same level as being driven by the evil spirit world. I did dress up as a kid and go trick or treating. It was always just a thing we did. We were a moral family but not a family that practiced Christian principles. Now we come to today and I have to lead my children and my church and I want to be correct so I go to the Bible for some clear answers: Halloween Leviticus 20:6-7, Deuteronomy 18:10-13. The message is basically stay away form the spirit world and it godless influences. Personally speaking, we have never let our kids dress in evil costumes. We have let them come to a church provided alternative and dress as something like a super hero of today. Considering the ancient and pagan rituals that surround Halloween and the reasons it all began is enough for me to say I don't want my kids dressing like ghosts and witches and playing the game of Satan. This is his turf, so to speaking of the spirit world. The innocent children are in need of guidance from parents who I believe should provide an answer of why we choose an alternative to making ourselves to appear something that on the other 364 days a year we would think it strange. I Peter 4:1-4 Be separate from the world, Ephesians 5:11 Have no dealings with the works of darkness is basically what the verse means. We offer a church alternative of fun, food and games to anyone interested and we hope you can come.
Concerning the other two holidays that have their icons in the place of the Savior. What's so strange is there is so much inconsistency and we have to be wise as to "what we give as a reason of the hope that lies within us". Our kids have when they were younger sat on Sata Claus' lap and had their picture made. I believe we have some displayed around the house every season. We teach our children the right kind of music to listen to and we teach our children the reason for the season, Christ. We keep make believe and realism separated. I know some who say, "Santa" spelled another way using the same letters is "Satan". I understand where they are coming from. There can be a commercialization of Christmas that dethrones the Savior and detracts from the real reason we celebrate Christmas. But not at my house. We differentiate between the two. We are strong about that. We make no apologies for it. There is only one reason we have Christmas's, and it is Jesus. The same argument is exactly what I would say concerning Easter. Keep the make believe make believe and keep the real reason for the season in the forefront of our children and our families. We don't have these icons in the church because we want a clear message of differentiation made. To put them together sends a wrong message.
I read recently an evangelist's blog where he basically was pointing out all the ways we have drifted in our Christian world and the church. He criticizes the Preachers. He criticized everything and I mean things like how we dress to how we come to church dressed, and he did so in such a manner that it came across to me as to plastic. We need to let people see our heart and let them know we are trying as best we can to follow the Lord Jesus because we Love Him and for no other reason. If Jesus becomes Lord of our lives we then can judge things based on what says the Lord. I believe when we seek the Lord for wisdom and I mean real wisdom from Him we can be shown how and why and when we should celebrate.
