Although I grew up believing in Santa my kids have not.  And contrary to popular opinion they have not suffered knowing the truth.  This is how I explained Santa to my children:

Christmas is when we celebrate Jesus’ birth and since Satan hates this he has come up with a way to divert our attention away from Jesus.

And Satan is laughing his butt off at Christians during the Christmas season!  Instead of Christians going all out for Jesus’ birthday he has us celebrating the most ridiculous character he could think of.

He has kids worshipping a big fat white guy in a red velvet suit that likes to say “ho, ho, ho.”  It’s no different than worshipping the Easter bunny instead of Jesus’ resurrection or Christians participating in Halloween.

Our focus should never be split but remain fully on Jesus at all times!

Now you might be thinking I’m taking it a bit far but we are called to live a radical life and we are in a spiritual war.   So here is my countdown of 6 reasons, as a follower of Jesus; we need to kick Santa to the curb.

6) Prayers Vs. Letters

We have our children writing letters to Santa instead of praying to God.  Our children have more “faith” that Santa will read and answer their requests than they do in Jesus.  Instead, we should be teaching our children how to pray effectively and in God’s Will.

1 John 5:13-15
I write this to you who believe in the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.  And we can be confident that He will listen to us whenever we ask Him for anything in line with His will.  And if we know He is listening when we make our requests, we can be sure that He will give us what we ask for.

5) Who’s More Exciting?

We see our children getting excited about seeing Santa and having Santa come to their house instead of getting excited about the birth of their Saviour.  What happened about being excited about Jesus’ birthday and having him in our house every single day?  Isn’t it time we get our children excited and prepared for Jesus’ return?

Titus 2:12-13
We should live in this evil world with self-control, right conduct, and devotion to God, while we look forward to that wonderful event when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.

4) Magical Experience

We are indoctrinating our kids at a very early age with magic and the concept of there being good and bad magic.  However; God says all magic is bad and is an abomination to Him.

Deuteronomy 18: 10-12,14
Do not let your people practices fortune-telling or sorcery, or allow them to interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead.  Anyone who does these things is an object of horror and disgust to the LORD.
The people you are about to displace consult with sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the LORD your God forbids you to do such things.

We need to draw a line in the ground.  We are in a spiritual war and as parents, we are our kid's spiritual covering.  Are you fully protecting them from Satan or opening doors for him?  The occult is being pushed in all entertainment outlets and allowing them to believe in Satan is conditioning them to the idea and appeal of magic.

3) Lying

For kids to believe that Santa is real parents have to lie to their children.  The Bible says ALL liars are going to hell.  So not only are parents sinning but they’re teaching their kids that lying is acceptable under certain conditions, unfortunately, God doesn’t see it that way.

Revelation 21:8
But cowards who turn away from me, and unbelievers, and the corrupt, and murderers, and the immoral, and those who practice witchcraft, and idol worshippers and all liars – their doom is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.

What does the above verse mean by all liars?  It means anything that deviates from the truth which includes out-right lies, white lies and exaggerations of the truth.  When you tell your kids Santa is real you are lying.  It’s also very telling, in the above verse, what God thinks about lying – He lumps lying with murderers, witchcraft and unbelievers.

This is so important!  We need to raise our kids by example and you can’t do that by telling them one thing and doing another.

We need to raise our kids in a holy way.

1 Peter 1:16
You must be holy in everything you do, just as God – who chose you to be his children – is holy.  For he himself has said, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

2) This World Vs. God’s World

Santa is all about giving kids material goods through a “magical” experience.  Not only is the magic bad enough but Santa teaches kids that it’s all about you and what you want and materialistic stuff.  This is what God has to say about that:

Matthew 10:39
If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will find it.

I’m not saying you can’t give your kids presents but the idea of this magical being giving your kids what they want is disturbing. In these Santa movies, he comes across as a saviour to the kids in trouble or in a crisis.   And what’s wrong with kids knowing their parents give them the gifts?

1) Idol Worship

This is a biggie.  Santa is a form of idol worship.  The first and second commandment deals with this:

Deuteronomy 5:7-9
Do not worship any other gods besides me.
Do not make idols of any kind, whether in the shape of birds or animals or fish.  You must never worship or bow down to them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not share your affection with any other god!

The definition of worship is the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.

Let’s see if Santa falls into the category of idol worship:

• Kids adore and love Santa.
• They leave cookies and milk out for him.
• They write letters to him.
• They want to be close to him and sit on his lap while they tell him their deepest desires and wants.
• Their house at Christmas time is filled with Santa’s.
• They draw and colour pictures of Santa
• They have their favourite Santa movies that they watch every year.
• They have their favourite Santa songs that they like to sing.
• And most importantly, even in most Christian families, there is a bigger emphasis on Santa than there is on Jesus and his birthday.

If this isn’t a form of idol worship I don’t know what is?

This is what God wants us to do with the idols that may have sneaked into our homes:

Deuteronomy 7:25-26
You must burn their (the world’s) idols in fire, and do not desire the silver or gold with which they are made.  Do not take it or it will become a snare to you, for it is detestable to the LORD your God. Do not bring any detestable objects into your home, for then you will be set apart for destruction just like them.  You must utterly detest such things, for they are set apart for destruction.

Summary

If after reading all this you’re still clinging to Santa I ask that you bring it to God and really evaluate why you feel Santa should have a higher status during the Christmas season than Jesus?

Sanctification can feel painful and “extreme” sometimes but take my word for it – if you allow God to cut out what is unrighteous and unholy in your life YOU WILL receive freedom!!

Your Sister in Christ,

Angela

P.S If stumped, answer the question: What would Jesus do?  Would he invite Santa into your home or would he react like he did when he found the merchants in the Temple (Mark 11:15-17)? Food for thought! 🙂