Following up from my last post regarding Santa Claus, here is a great article by Noel Piper (wife of John Piper) on how her family has addressed the Santa issue.
Chris, Not a scholar so you know who this is; however I am a believer and my 3 young children will be told the story of St. Nick (He was a Pope and real; not make believe) and the good he did and the prayer we pray that has even been said at church...however the whimsicle Santa is fun and kids enjoy the decorations and other things that come with the season; however they will be told the real reason for the season....but they are kids.....let them be kids.....let their eyes light up when they see santa or when they open presents as they will know the difference between real and make believe. Lets not be so literal that our children are not given the time to expand their creative and imaginative side of their brains as before you know it they will be out of the home and need to be well rounded.....ahh well talk to you more at Cracker Barrel.
Wow, I never realized Bethel had so many Santa haters. Truth be told, I have a hard time with what I call "fundamentalist truth tellers." You know, the ones who say, you should alllllllllways tell the truth.
The first time I met a fundamentalist truth teller was in a men’s bible study group. There was one particular person who said, "God would never want you to lie so you must always tell the truth no matter what." I mean after all, it’s always just a simple black and white issue, right? And we Christians love to live in the black and white.
My fundamentalist truth telling friend was asked if he lived during WWII and was hiding Jews and the Nazi’s knocked on his door and said, "do you have Jews hiding here," you were obligated to say yes. Or if they asked do you know of anyone hiding Jews and you knew, you must say yes, "after all" he said, "God hates lying, and lying is a sin." (I’m not making this up!)
Or if your wife asks if you think she’s fat or if the dress she’s wearing is ugly and you thought so, you were required to say yes. It’s a simple black and white issue...
Funny but this past week I ran across an elderly friend of mine, she’s in her late seventies and is caring for her mother who is suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s and is in her nineties. I asked my friend how things are going and she said "I’ve never had to lie so much in my life." Oh, I said, how so and she answered, every time she goes to see her mom, her mother asks when her husband is coming to pick her up? Problem is her husband has been dead for over a decade. My friend used to say, "mom, dad has passed away" which would bring on a torrent of crying and weeping and other emotions. My friend now simply says, "Dad will be here soon mom..." which would bring a glow of excitement and anticipation to her mom. My friend also has a hard time with the fundamentalist truth tellers.
Another interesting thing I frequently find about fundamentalist truth tellers is that it oftentimes brings such a sense of pride inside, even congratulating themselves for being a fundamentalist truth teller.
"You tell your kids there’s a Santa?" "How could you do such a thing?” "It’s just a simple black and white issue, isn’t it?" "After all, this is just another worldly battle we are in and we are going to battle and die on the Santa Claus hill."
Yeah, I'll admit it, I do have a hard time with fundamentalist truth tellers.
Thanks for your comments. They are well thought out.
The issues that you bring up are much bigger than a discussion about Santa Claus, and perhaps down the road I can address the whole issue of "fundamentalist truth telling." I certainly wasn't trying to address that issue here.
I think you would agree that Nazi Germany, and parent with Alzheimer's (I will leave out the "fat" issues with your wife) are much bigger and in a completely different category than Santa Claus.
For me, this issue is primarily a discipling issue with our children. Our responsibility as Christian parents is to point our children to Jesus at all times and to be extremely careful that nothing interferes with that. So, when my child asks me if there is a Santa Claus it isn't primarily about telling the truth (although I think we should) it's about point them to Christ.
I am a husband to Eva, father of 4, pastor, and most of all passionate follower of Jesus Christ.
The focus of my life is to make the most of every opportunity God gives me to bring glory to Him.
Outside of the time spent in my role as a pastor, I spend most of my time with my family -- a good deal of that coaching various sports teams that my children are involved with.
Every fall and winter you will find me rushing to the woods of Indiana and West Virginia in search of a monster whitetail buck.
Chris,
ReplyDeleteNot a scholar so you know who this is; however I am a believer and my 3 young children will be told the story of St. Nick (He was a Pope and real; not make believe) and the good he did and the prayer we pray that has even been said at church...however the whimsicle Santa is fun and kids enjoy the decorations and other things that come with the season; however they will be told the real reason for the season....but they are kids.....let them be kids.....let their eyes light up when they see santa or when they open presents as they will know the difference between real and make believe. Lets not be so literal that our children are not given the time to expand their creative and imaginative side of their brains as before you know it they will be out of the home and need to be well rounded.....ahh well talk to you more at Cracker Barrel.
Wow, I never realized Bethel had so many Santa haters. Truth be told, I have a hard time with what I call "fundamentalist truth tellers." You know, the ones who say, you should alllllllllways tell the truth.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I met a fundamentalist truth teller was in a men’s bible study group. There was one particular person who said, "God would never want you to lie so you must always tell the truth no matter what." I mean after all, it’s always just a simple black and white issue, right? And we Christians love to live in the black and white.
My fundamentalist truth telling friend was asked if he lived during WWII and was hiding Jews and the Nazi’s knocked on his door and said, "do you have Jews hiding here," you were obligated to say yes. Or if they asked do you know of anyone hiding Jews and you knew, you must say yes, "after all" he said, "God hates lying, and lying is a sin." (I’m not making this up!)
Or if your wife asks if you think she’s fat or if the dress she’s wearing is ugly and you thought so, you were required to say yes. It’s a simple black and white issue...
Funny but this past week I ran across an elderly friend of mine, she’s in her late seventies and is caring for her mother who is suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s and is in her nineties. I asked my friend how things are going and she said "I’ve never had to lie so much in my life." Oh, I said, how so and she answered, every time she goes to see her mom, her mother asks when her husband is coming to pick her up? Problem is her husband has been dead for over a decade. My friend used to say, "mom, dad has passed away" which would bring on a torrent of crying and weeping and other emotions. My friend now simply says, "Dad will be here soon mom..." which would bring a glow of excitement and anticipation to her mom. My friend also has a hard time with the fundamentalist truth tellers.
Another interesting thing I frequently find about fundamentalist truth tellers is that it oftentimes brings such a sense of pride inside, even congratulating themselves for being a fundamentalist truth teller.
"You tell your kids there’s a Santa?" "How could you do such a thing?” "It’s just a simple black and white issue, isn’t it?" "After all, this is just another worldly battle we are in and we are going to battle and die on the Santa Claus hill."
Yeah, I'll admit it, I do have a hard time with fundamentalist truth tellers.
Tom
Tom,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. They are well thought out.
The issues that you bring up are much bigger than a discussion about Santa Claus, and perhaps down the road I can address the whole issue of "fundamentalist truth telling." I certainly wasn't trying to address that issue here.
I think you would agree that Nazi Germany, and parent with Alzheimer's (I will leave out the "fat" issues with your wife) are much bigger and in a completely different category than Santa Claus.
For me, this issue is primarily a discipling issue with our children. Our responsibility as Christian parents is to point our children to Jesus at all times and to be extremely careful that nothing interferes with that. So, when my child asks me if there is a Santa Claus it isn't primarily about telling the truth (although I think we should) it's about point them to Christ.