Santa Claus is not my enemy!<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve always enjoyed Christmas. As a kid, my parents somehow found a way to make it special and fun.\u00a0 When Marlene and I had kids of our own, it was especially enjoyable to see Christmas through their eyes. But frankly, I\u2019m a romantic.\u00a0 I love carols, trees, lights, old-fashioned store windows and decorations.\u00a0 Well, most decorations; I can do without seeing another inflated Grinch or Santa Homer.<\/p>\n
We played Santa with our kids.\u00a0 When they got older, we explained what was going on; but they always got something from Santa.\u00a0 We also included other Christmas traditions.\u00a0 Since our kids were home-schooled, we could talk to them about how Christmas was celebrated in other lands and times.\u00a0 We incorporated Christmas with geography and social studies.\u00a0 Though they heard about Christmas in 19th<\/sup> century Scandinavia and 18th<\/sup> century colonial America, they still learned that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus the Messiah.<\/p>\n Christ followers have a lot to take issue with in our culture.\u00a0 Ungodly thinking, rebellion and selfish priorities are manifested everywhere.\u00a0 I\u2019ve written about some of those things in my Pastor’s Pen column; others I have confronted right here in this blog and on Facebook.\u00a0 Though we do have cultural foes, Santa is not one of mine.\u00a0 Everyone bemoans the materialism of Christmas, and there is truth in that.\u00a0 Our entire culture is materialistic, even the Christian crowd.\u00a0 What a wail there would be if our projector or air conditioning didn\u2019t work.\u00a0 Our bookstores, which used to be centered on Bibles and study helps, are now filled with jewelry, exercise plans and recipes.\u00a0 If we really got serious with God, we could change that; and we can make sure Christmas is about more than glitter and gifts.<\/p>\n I\u2019m afraid we show our pettiness and lack of creativity when we pick on poor old Saint Nick.\u00a0 It\u2019s easier to condemn and withdraw from our culture than to engage it and challenge it to do better.\u00a0 This Christmas let\u2019s celebrate the Gift God gave us, His Son. Let\u2019s also pledge to be like that Son and interject ourselves into this broken world bringing hope, faith and the gift of love.<\/p>\n By the way, in case you wondered.\u00a0 My three home-schooled children all have college degrees; two are post-graduate.\u00a0 Credit goes to the Lord and their patient mother!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Santa Claus is not my enemy! I\u2019ve always enjoyed Christmas. As a kid, my parents somehow found a way to make it special and fun.\u00a0 When Marlene and I had kids of our own, it was especially enjoyable to see Christmas through their eyes. But frankly, I\u2019m a romantic.\u00a0 I love carols, trees, lights, old-fashioned … Continue reading Santa Is Not My Enemy<\/span>