Is Santa Coming to Your House?

      With Thanksgiving behind us, Christmas is coming! Every year around this time I get questions from moms and dads asking for my opinion on Santa Claus: “Did you tell your kids there is a Santa?” Some are very adamant: “Santa Claus is a replacement of Jesus in this secularized society and just another way of spreading the materialism of this age.” Others see the fable as harmless delightful fantasy: “I believed in Santa when I was a kid and it didn’t hurt me! It’s just a fun way to give the kids a little magical spark during this wonderful season.”
      Have you ever thought that Santa can provide a springboard for reinforcing young minds with the true meaning of Christmas?
      You see, there was a real Santa Claus. From the time our children were very young, we taught them about the real man behind the legend. Hundreds of years ago there lived a man named Nicholas (later known as St. Nicholas) who inherited a great sum of wealth from his parents. He was born in 280 AD and his parents died when he was just a boy. Early in his life he devoted himself to God and the Lord’s service. He grew up to become a pastor in modern day Turkey, and he gave away all of his wealth to help the poor––especially children. When he was persecuted and imprisoned for his faith, he shared his meager provisions with the other inmates. He gained a reputation for giving both out of his abundance, and then out of his poverty. He believed that giving to the needy was the same as giving to Jesus. He was right. Jesus taught that himself (Matt. 25:40). His example of giving sparked in many, a tradition of giving to commemorate the birth of Jesus. St. Nick was a real person who left for us a wonderful example. But I think he would be horrified to know how he has come to be the exaggerated focus on materialism for many children at this time of the year.
      Linda and I have always taught our children about the real Santa Claus. We also emphasized to our children that lying is absolutely and always wrong. To us, our integrity is one of the most important gifts we can give our kids. We have an agreement: We will never lie to them; they are never to lie to us. I would have a hard time teaching them that if I maintained a story to be true for years while knowing that it was not. As a child, once I learned that the Santa story I had been told was only a fable, I began to wonder if the stories about Jesus were just fables as well. Though I believed in Santa Claus as a child, and my children have enjoyed pretending the legend but knowing its roots, I did not enjoy Christmas more than them. In our family, we try to emphasize giving to others, not getting from Santa. I think they enjoy it more because they get excited about the “giving projects” we take part in as a family. We really try to make Christ the centerpiece of His birthday celebration and this way we believe we are passing on to our children a heritage far more valuable than any fun that make-believe can provide.
      As parents, you have the obligation to do and teach your children what is right for your family. I trust you will pray about this issue and are sincere in how you believe the Lord is leading. His way is always the best way!
      In the meantime, please do your best to establish Christmas traditions in your family that will focus on Jesus and how His birth provided for us communion with God! Use this holiday season to lead your children in making Christ your first priority.

How to Quench Your Thirst for More

    I grew up hunting with my dad, who grew up hunting with his dad, and the tradition went back generations. So for Christmas when I was 12 I received my first real gun. I had already taken the hunter’s safety course, had lots of practice with BB guns and a pellet gun, as well as plenty of practice shooting times and lessons from my dad using his guns. But this was special. This was a real shot gun that I could use for duck and pheasant hunting, and it was all mine.

My dad bought it used and repaired and refurbished it himself. It was a single shot 16 gauge that was about fifty-years-old and it looked like a million bucks (I still have it today). It was one of those Christmas gifts that I couldn’t wait to tell my friends about. I called up one of my buddies who shared my passion for the outdoors, but before I could get it out, he told me about the brand new Remington 20 gauge pump 870 that he had opened the night before. I went from loving what I had, to feeling left out. I didn’t even bother telling my friend about my new gun. Just that quick, it wasn’t good enough.
    Let’s face it. Getting what we want is only fun for a while. As soon as we look around and see what we don’t have, and compare our stuff with those who have more, the enjoyment of things turns into a lust for more. The iPhone 4s isn’t all that cool anymore not with the new 5. The new car you bought last year that has now been replaced with whatever is the latest or most updated version no longer gives you that zing as you climb into it. The thirst for whatever is newer and better destroys our appreciation of what we have and sucks the enjoyment out of life. We get and get and get but it’s never enough.
    So what’s the antidote? It’s twofold: gratitude and generosity. Forcing ourselves to focus on what we have and verbalizing our gratitude to and for others breaks the power of greed. It also leads to generosity. And the very act of letting go of what we would rather stockpile (of course–in order to get more) changes our hearts and moves us to a new level of appreciation for how we’ve been blessed. Those who are truly generous and purposely grateful are not only happier than those who are greedy, they actually wind up being blessed in greater ways, materially and spiritually, mainly because they are not burdened by the never-ending craving for more. Together, gratitude and generosity breaks the power of greed, and produces genuine enjoyment of what we do have.
    So forget about what is newer and better and what others have that you do not. Sit down and list out what you do have. Spend a few minutes verbalizing your gratitude to God and then to the people in your life who are important to you. And figure out ways that you can share what you have for God’s work and other people. You just might find that the things that used to cause so much anxiety can actually become the blessing you once thought they could be. Be grateful and give. That’s a two-fold sure-fire way to joy.
    “Remember the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” – Acts 20:35

Giving to Get or Getting to Give?

    A couple of days ago, two guys walked into the Open Pantry on the corner of Pflaum and Stoughton Road in Madison, Wisconsin (a convenience store I’ve been in a few times). One man diverted the cashier’s attention by asking for directions, while the other slipped behind the counter and into a small office where he grabbed a pile of bills the woman had been counting. As the men were about to leave, she glanced into her office and saw the money was missing and began to demand that they give it back. Here’s a first, they did...and in fact gave back more than what they took. Perhaps afraid that he might be recognized, the perpetrator reached into his pocket and grabbed a wad of bills and threw it on the counter and the two of them fled. After calling the police, the cashier recounted the money and found the would-be thief had actually returned more money than what he had taken. The cashier insisted she had just counted the money before the two guys came in, and there was more after they left than before.
    I’ve learned that God does things the other way around. Proverbs 11:24 says, “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.” I have found time and again that the more I give, the more I receive. And I know far too many people who give little, if at all, and are always complaining about their money problems. That verse works: withholding for self produces poverty, generosity brings blessing. The next verse in Proverbs 11 says, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:25).
    It goes against our nature. We think that keeping what we have for ourselves is the way to build wealth. But God set things up in his kingdom very differently. You might try and stockpile lots for yourself or spend frivolously for your own pleasure, but that leads to more kinds of poverty than penury. I’ve never met a stingy person who was truly happy and or/fulfilled. And I’ve also never met a generous person who was not both. There is something about generosity that brings great blessing, in many more ways than just financial affluence.
    Whatever you have or however much you have, God has shared this with you for you to be a blessing. Are you using your resources to their fullest? Are you sufficiently supporting God’s kingdom work? Are you generous to those around you (I’m appalled at the way some Christians tip). Do you actively look for ways to be a blessing to others?
    Jesus sacrificed his whole life out of love for you. Are you sacrificing what you have for him and his work?

What Are You Known For?

    For what will you be remembered?
    Medieval Europeans often gave permanent names to high profile people who had built a reputation for themselves. Charles the Simple was the son of Louis the Stammerer. They called him this because of his policy of making concessions to Viking invaders rather than fighting. Then there was Louis the Sluggard, noted for his self-indulgence. He ruled from 986 to 987 over the Franks. Ethelred the Unready (968-1016) was so called because of his inability to repel the Danish invasion of England. At first he paid tribute to the Danes, but their raids continued and he was forced to abandon England for Normandy in 1013. Those who were more generous call him Ethelred the Ill-advised. And then there was Louis the Fat. Can you guess where he got his name? It was said to stick after he was unable to mount his horse at the age of 47.
    I wonder, what would I be called? Scott the short? Scott the long-winded preacher?
    We all have a reputation and people do talk about us, like it or not. What is that reputation? What do people say about you? What character traits stand out? Is it that of generosity? Kindness? Patience? Cheerfulness? Genuineness? Or is it selfish? Angry? Critical? Self-willed? When your name comes up in a conversation, what comes to mind?
    I’ve heard too many say, “I don’t care what people think.” My response is two-fold, 1) “Liar.” 2) “If you are a Christian, you should!” Because as followers of Jesus, what they think of us is a reflection on the one we represent. That’s why Paul said in Colossians 4:5, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.” Maybe we should care more about what people think of our Lord. Our behavior, attitudes, choices and words are a reflection on him. We affect his reputation. He is known by the way we are known.
    So then, what is your reputation and how does that reflect on Jesus?
    “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” – Proverbs 22:1 NIV