And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. . .
Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition
Mark 7:9, 13
In the Christmas Season, there are many traditions that are practiced in which, if we as Christians are not careful, we can make the “word of God of none effect.”
Idolatry: Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. 1 Corinthians 10:14
Idolatry is taking something that is not real and making it to be reverenced and worshiped. To worship something is to give it power of influence over your life. We have to be careful we are not putting this stumbling block in our innocent children’s path with Santa Clause. We are not teaching them that Santa is the rewarder of Good and evil- that he is the one we must please. Which leads to the next area of making the word of God of no effect-
Lying and deceiving: Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Ephesians 4:25 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 2 Timothy 3:13
Telling your children that Santa Clause is real, is lying to them, hands down! It is deceiving them and that is against the Spirit of Christ. We can tell our children the story of Santa- as a myth. Be honest with them. You wont deprive them of any joy and they will always adore and respect you for your honesty.
Coveteousness: But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Ephesians 5:3
The word of God puts coveteousness right in with fornication and uncleaness. To have coveteousness is to strongly desire something you really dont need. It is to think about it a lot. The dictionary says: “To wish for longingly.” Our tradition of having our children make a list of what they want needs to be tempered so that it does not lead to coveteousness. It is okay to want something, and to give something. But we need to be careful not to breed a spirit of coveteousness in them. Make sure they realize we are giving gifts to one another in honor of Jesus’ gift to us. Make sure they are involved in giving as well as getting.
It is in times like these that we prove our faithfulness to Christ. Christ is not a “fair weather friend.” There are times when we must forsake and sacrifice in order to follow him, and that includes forsaking some popular and well accepted traditions. Christians are always talking about putting CHRIST back into Christmas. The best place to start is by being faithful to his word. Traditions can be fun and something to look forward too. Make new ones! Make traditions that honor the Lord Jesus Christ!
May God help us to cerebrate Christmas in the way that pleases him. Let us cerebrate Christmas in Christ and not without Christ.