It’s holiday time again folks, and as the festive spirit of the season approaches, many millions of people will be driven by the frenzy of the moment to spend and to do that which might be regretted, after the euphoria of the season is gone. The reason why the name of this iconic character is spelled the way it is, is because for some unknown reason, whenever he passes through, most folk end up either moderately or severely depleted financially, in addition to this, the interest payments on the many purchases made begin to pile up with the coming of the new year.
Now, although God has no problem whatever with the giving and exchanging of gifts, and even though the Christmas season has absolutely nothing to do with Christ, yet, as the world engages in spending and indulgences, He would have us understand that the principles of His kingdom do not change with the seasons, and therefore the laws of sowing and reaping will apply whether or not “Santa Claws” is coming to town.
It is one of the most successful, and most common ploys of the devil to infuse our minds with warped concepts of God, and the way He operates, for he knows all too well that as Christians, we will think and pray along those modes of thought that have been incorporated into our understanding of God, and then our expectations of Him will ultimately be based on what we believe. Hence the reason why so many Christians become utterly disappointed, and discouraged when the god of our own devising does not deliver according to our expectations.
For instance, if we were to go on a shopping spree, being driven by the frenzy of the moment, and were to spend other people’s money in the form of agent plastic, purchasing big ticket items which we cannot really afford, then when January 1st comes, and the bills come due, we should not complain to God for deliverance. And if He does not answer us according to our expectations, we should not then conclude that He is treating us unfairly. In addition to this, our freewill offerings should not be made to suffer because of what we have irrationally spent in the heat of the moment.
Similarly, with our food and drink and the pastries, and ice cream that we plan on devouring over the yule-tide season. If we choose to go that route, God is not going to reverse any of the side effects in a miraculous way come January, for to harbor these concepts of God is to think of Him as being Santa Claws, fulfilling our wish list at our discretion. On the contrary, it will require a slow, hard slug-fest in the gym in order to reverse the after-effects of our course of action, and if God does not answer our petitions for immediate weight loss, we should not then begin to murmur against Him.
Before we begin however, there are some pertinent facts about Santa Claws, and these will shed light on how the Christmas celebration became inculcated into our culture.
[1] Santa’s real identity is that of a Roman Catholic bishop, commonly referred to as saint Nicholas who lived during the reign of the notorious roman emperor Diocletian, and who was renowned for the giving of gifts to children, helping the less fortunate, and was known to protect sailors, and those who were abused also.
After he died on December 6th A.D 343, the yearly commemoration of his death became routine, with the giving and exchanging of gifts becoming a part of the celebration, to mimic the benevolence he had been noted for. However, the celebration of what we now know as Christmas, which is really the Mass of Christ or Christ-Mass was officially put in place by pope Julius, not because it was the birthday of Christ, but most likely because the winter solstice, and the birthday of the pagan sun god Mithra took place around the same time.
Thus it seems, that in an apparently slick move, to incorporate the most festive elements of the pagan celebration with Christianity, pope Julius instituted the Christ-Mass as an official church holiday. After the death and burial of Mr. Nicholas, legend has it that a unique, liquid relic was miraculously formed at his grave site, and it was called “Manna” because of its healing properties, and because of this, his popularity, and people’s devotion to him grew exponentially with the passage of time.
Then when the pilgrims fathers relocated to the new world, Christmas celebration, together with the veneration of Santa Claws was observed more and more, and with the passage of time, merchants saw the festive season as a time to capitalize on the business opportunities which came to be associated with it, hence the reason why most of the big stores see it as a time to get in the black, while the masses of people usually end up in the red.
It’s interesting to note that the majority of Santa’s attire is red, whilst only a very small portion is black, and thus, when viewed from a financial perspective, the ratio of red to black in his attire, represents the merchants and the people, with the former being made very rich, whilst the latter often become very poor, or otherwise heavily debt-laden. As a matter of fact, “Rudolph”, the red nosed reindeer originally had nothing to do with Santa Claws, until Robert L. May, a copywriter at the large Montgomery Ward department store, came up with the story, with the sole purpose of bring more holiday traffic into the store.
Montgomery Ward sold almost 2.5 million copies of the story in 1939. And when it was reissued in 1946, over three and half million copies were sold. Several years later, a musician friend of Robert May wrote a short song based on Rudolph’s story. It immediately went viral, and sold over two million copies. Since that time, the story has been translated into twenty five different languages and has been made into a television movie, narrated by Burl Ives, which has charmed audiences every year since.
We can make a bet that in our lifetime we will never see any person looking anything like the caricature portrayed in movies and comic strips as the devil, all grotesque, with two horns and shoveling dead souls with a spade. Instead, he comes to humanity in the form of an angel of light, dressed in garbs of logical reasoning, with philosophical modes of thought and suggestions and traditions that are directly contrary to the word of God. And it should quite alarm every thinking Christian, that the overwhelming majority of this earth’s inhabitants have already bought into his sophistries in one way or another.
This is because his representations are most often through human agencies, in order to disguise and lure the unwary into his snares. Let’s read:
Isaiah 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.
Let’s just suppose that the birthday of Christ was December 25th. If that were indeed the case, then we should expect that Jesus would be the reason for the season, Right? Now let’s ask any child who they look forward to seeing most during the Christ- Mass season, whether it is Jesus or Santa, and the human agent is sure to get two thumbs up. Added to this, if as tradition says, it is the actual birthday of Christ, shouldn’t we then be lavishing our gifts on Him, who is supposed to be the center of attraction at this time of year?
How is it that the majority of our spending is on our friends, family, and ourselves, whilst we sometimes bring a leftover of a pittance as an offering into the courts of God at this time? Thus it is that the human agent is made to usurp the place of Christ, and that’s the reason why the agents of our adversary always come dressed in human garb. Let’s read:
Isaiah 14:16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this The man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?
The words in this last verse which asks the cryptic question, “Is this the man” means that instead of some hideous looking creature from never-land, the adversary comes to us in the form of human beings, who themselves often do not know that they are being motivated by remote control. This constitutes the reason why when we take a good look at Santa claws, we will see the human agent also aspiring to be like God, a hint that is quietly portrayed in one of the most popular songs that is often played on the airwaves during the Christmas season. The following are just a few of the lyrics, with the passages of scripture which clearly show that some of Santa’s stated attributes really belong to God alone. Let’s read:
“He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you’re awake”….
Psalm 139:1 O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
“He knows if you’ve been bad or good”… (and then the instruction is given in the song), “So be good for goodness sake”.
That Sounds Like God To Me. Let’s read:
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Ecclesiastes 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Sounds like God to me!
The visual imagery of Santa Claws is one of excess, excess in eating and drinking, and in order to avoid the snare of overindulgence in spending, the word of God issues a few cautions to us, especially since we are now living at such a volatile time in earth’s history, when the financial markets, together with millions of households across the land are struggling for survival. As a matter of fact, since we are at the turning point of another seven year cycle, we are to be doubly cautious in our spending habits, just in case there is a repeat of 2007-2008 around the corner.
The following are passages of scripture that are to be read and understood objectively, without ever placing our own spin on what we think should be included or interpreted into them. Especially should we be careful with the use of credit cards which, as we are all aware of, allows us to spend money that we do not really have, and thereby wiping out our future earnings even before we get paid.
Thus, by employing these plastic chains, very many people have been brought into financial bondage, and even though some of us may not be aware of this fact, the devil earnestly seeks to bring as many Christians as he possibly can into financial slavery, in order to set the stage for mandatory negotiations in the very near future according to the scriptures. Let’s read:
Proverbs 22:7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
27 If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?
Romans 13:7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom”…
8 Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
All those who refuse to submit to the teachings of God’s word concerning the avoiding of unnecessary debt, will find out too late that it is one of the most formidable agencies that will be used in forcing the mark of the beast upon unwilling hands and minds. Therefore, to forestall such an undesirable situation in any member or in any family, The Lord issues to us the following warning, with the corresponding, corrective measures to be taken, to put our houses in order, before that dreadful time arrives. Let’s read:
[The Great Controversy pp. 607] As the controversy extends into new fields, and the minds of the people are called to God's down-trodden law, Satan is astir. The power attending the message will only madden those who oppose it. By every means at their command they will endeavor to suppress the discussion of these vital questions. The church appeals to the strong arm of civil power, and in this work, papists and Protestants unite.
As the movement for Sunday enforcement becomes more bold and decided, the law will be invoked against commandment-keepers. They will be threatened with fines and imprisonment, and some will be offered positions of influence, and other rewards and advantages, as inducements to renounce their faith. [ And then the corresponding counsel is given, so that all who will escape this financial snare, may do so while probation still lingers. Let’s read:]
[The Adventist Home pp. 392] All must practice economy. No worker should manage his affairs in a way to incur debt. The practice of drawing money from the treasury before it is earned, is a snare. When one voluntarily becomes involved in debt, he is entangling himself in one of Satan's nets which he sets for souls. Many are poor because they spend their money as soon as they receive it. Abstracting and using money for any purpose, before it is earned, is a snare. The world has a right to expect strict integrity in those who profess to be Bible Christians. By one man's indifference in regard to paying his just dues, all our people are in danger of being regarded as unreliable.
[The Adventist Home pp. 374] Many, very many, have not so educated themselves that they can keep their expenditures within the limit of their income. They do not learn to adapt themselves to circumstances, and they borrow and borrow again and again and become overwhelmed in debt, and consequently they become discouraged and disheartened. Be determined never to incur another debt. Deny yourself a thousand things rather than run in debt. Avoid it as you would the smallpox.
In closing, it’s necessary for us to remember that God will not leave us to perish by the determined efforts of a relentless foe, however, it’s important for us to follow the guidelines given in the Bible for the confessing and relinquishing of sin, and if we humble ourselves, asking God to forgive and heal us, He will respond by helping us in ways we may not have been aware of, and by showing us ways and means by which we can live debt free. Let’s read:
2nd Chronicles 7:13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
16 For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there forever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word.
God bless!