Have you been “good” this year? December 6, 2008

I know that the Santa thing is a touchy subject. I also know that some people will read this blog and feel attacked regardless of how lightly I tread on the topic. In our home we do not do Santa. Our youngest son Logan (3), does not even know who Santa is. He calls him a snowman. There are many reasons for this but that is a topic for another post. Today I wanted to explore something that I thought about the other day.

It is no secret that our churches are losing members upon graduation from high school. Kids brought up in church are not very likely to attend after high school. I am not real sure on the number but I think it is like 80% of kids leave the church. That is staggering. It is also no secret that if you look at most “youth groups” today they will look identical to the world. The girls will be half dressed and the guys will be after one thing. They listen to Britney and watch the OC or whatever the new teenage soap opera is today. They participate in casual dating and often times, casual sex just as their non christian counter parts. How is it that they can attend youth retreats and conferences and come back full of fire and then return to the pit of worldliness the next Monday morning?

So I wanted to do a correlation for us to see exactly what the “harmless” Santa truly is teaching our kids.

Have you been a good girl or boy this year? Wow, sounds a little works based that Santa does. But beyond that, doesn’t Santa bring gifts regardless. I mean have you ever heard of a parent not bring Santa presents for their children because they were too bad? No. Families say that you have to be good but then they give presents regardless. Here is the lesson taught here….

Santa has a list and checks it twice to see who was good or bad. But really it does not matter because I will get something from him anyway. Sound familiar to anyone???? No. Then how about our teenagers thinking they can act however they want and still get to heaven. The “sinners prayer” has become their Santa. All these kids are required to do is repeat a prayer and then act any way they choose and still get a reward of heaven.

Why are young adults leaving the church? Because all they know is Church. They have a Santa -Jesus mentality. They are being filled with feel good psychology and give me something mister theology and are never being told the TRUTH! They are being given a false sense of what Christianity is really is.

Just as Christmas has become about what presents we are getting. We have turned Christianity into the same thing. We have taught young adults that all they have to do is to pray a prayer and then receive heaven. Its all about what God can do for them. Its all about how he will help them and how he will do this or that for them. Then just like Santa, they will get all these presents whether or not they are good.

This is so very sad. How this holiday has so badly tarnished our Christ. Christmas is actually the complete opposite of that. Christ gave up everything he had. His place in the Holy Heavenly places to be born into a manger. Christmas is a day to celebrate the birth of that precious sacrifice. It is about what it costs not about what we get. In fact the Christian walk is the same. It is about dying to self and pursuing holiness not about what our God will give us if we obey him. Whether you are in heaven or hell will you still worship him?

Which Jesus are we teaching our children about. Which Christmas, Which Christianity? Whether or not you perpetuate the Santa Claus myth in your home, are you still perpetuating the myth of the Santa type Jesus? We have got to put an end to this madness. Just today, I heard a preacher on television say the little repititious sinners prayer and then told people to go read John if they prayed it. I say we need to teaching our youth to read a little more 1John and find a REAL JESUS!