As the holiday season approaches, families across the globe eagerly anticipate the joy and wonder that come with the festivities. However, in our household, we’ve made the decision to forgo the traditional inclusion of Santa Claus. While it may seem like an unconventional choice to which people often call me a grinch, or ask me why I hate my child, our decision is grounded in love, in a desire to uphold the values of our faith and prioritize honesty with our children. I also recognize that many Christians justify Santa in many different ways. I’m not here to respond to those points. I am also not writing to condemn anyone. I am writing this to simply give my reasons for not doing Santa with my family this year, and to get you thinking about ways we could better glorify and magnify the Savior this Christmas. Here are 5 reasons why choosing Jesus is better than Santa:
1. Santa confuses the real story of Jesus with fantasy
Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, a pivotal moment in the Christian faith. Introducing Santa into the narrative creates a competition between the fantastical figure and the divine Savior. Children will believe most anything, and their formative minds are still trying to understand the world. They may struggle to discern between the magical tales of Santa and the profound story of Jesus, potentially leading to confusion about what to believe. By choosing to focus solely on the incarnate God, we hope to preserve the beauty of Christmas and prevent any dilution of its true meaning. As a Christian parent, my greatest desire is that my child comes to know and love Jesus. Why would I intentionally make efforts to confuse my precious daughter?
2. From forgiveness to legalism
The heart of the Christmas story lies in the concept of God’s forgiveness and the redemption of guilty sinners through the person and work of Jesus. Unfortunately, the introduction of Santa shifts the narrative toward a legalistic perspective, where children believe they must earn presents through good behavior. They do good to earn gifts, and get coal when they do bad. The naughty list and the nice list. This undermines the profound message of grace and forgiveness inherent in Jesus’ teachings. The truth is, there is no ‘nice list.’ We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Therefore, we all deserve death and eternal suffering. Yet, our gracious God gave us Jesus Christ. Though while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The Gospel is a story of broken people getting something they don’t deserve; mercy. Why waste time pointing our childrens’ focus to a legalistic fantasy instead of the riches of God’s grace through Jesus Christ? Perhaps this is another demonstration of our tendency to run to the law instead of running to Christ.
3. Lying to your child is still sin
Honesty is a cornerstone of our faith, and lying is explicitly condemned. We are told to speak the truth in love, and to lay aside falsehood. We are to honestly acknowledge the depths of our own depravity and approach the Savior earnestly. There is no room for deceit. Why do we make an exception to this at Christmas time? Taking advantage of God’s grace by perpetuating the Santa myth is knowingly participating in deceit. As Romans 6:1-2 reminds us, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!” There is no reason to knowingly sin by deceiving a child. That leads me to my next point.
4. Jesus meant it when he said not to deceive children:
In Matthew 18:6, Jesus provides a clear directive about not causing children to stumble. “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” I don’t think Jesus said this and followed it with, “except in the case of Santa.” Now, I understand this is a strong take on this passage, and I recognize that there may be alternative ways to interpret this in light of Christmas. That being said, this passage convicted me, personally, on this topic. I think Jesus meant what He said, and we should avoid anything that would intentionally cause our precious children – a heritage from the lord – to stumble.
5. Jesus brings eternal Joy
In John 15:11, Jesus declares, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” This profound statement underscores the enduring joy that comes from a relationship with Jesus. While the joy that Santa brings during the festive season is temporary and centered around material gifts, the joy spoken of by Jesus transcends circumstances and possessions. The Apostle Paul echoes this sentiment in Philippians 4:4, urging believers to “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” Choosing Jesus over Santa is a conscious decision to anchor our joy in the eternal love and salvation offered by Christ, a joy that surpasses the fleeting happiness associated with material possessions.
Conclusion: Jesus provides true joy!
The coming of the Messiah was looked forward to for thousands of years with eagerness and anticipation. God came in the form of a baby, lived a perfect life, died the death we deserved, and rose from the grave to demonstrate power over death, all to pay the penalty of sin. What a glorious redemption!
In John 15:11, Jesus declares, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” This profound statement underscores the enduring joy that comes from a relationship with Jesus. While the joy that Santa brings during the festive season is temporary and centered around material gifts, the joy spoken of by Jesus transcends circumstances and possessions. The Apostle Paul echoes this sentiment in Philippians 4:4, urging believers to “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” Choosing Jesus over Santa is a conscious decision to anchor our joy in the eternal love and salvation offered by Christ, a joy that surpasses the fleeting happiness associated with material possessions.
Our kids need to know that Jesus solved the problem that Santa could not. Jesus is sufficient, Santa is not. Jesus is the truth, Santa is a myth. Jesus is forever, Santa will eventually fade away.
At the end of the day, when we take the coming of God incarnate, and turn it into a competition between God and Santa, we thieve God of His glory and take our gaze away from the King.
There is much more to say, but for the sake of brevity I will put it plainly: In my eyes, there is no justified reason to thieve God of His glory and His Gospel by turning our children’s gaze to a legalistic fantasy man in a red suit.
(If you’d like to know more about the REAL Saint Nick, check it out here. He was passionate about the truth of the Lord).
