I grew up thinking and asking questions like this. I don’t want my children to question Jesus or God. Some parents think I’m overboard but it’s simple. Jesus is the reason for the season not Santa. And gifts, I want them to know they come from mom and dad. No elf on the shelf here either. This needs to be talked about more
I did this parenting style for months leading up to christmas morning, BUTTT my child has been being fed the fairytales of christmas from close family members and is NOW so confused and asked me if santa brought her gifts. 🤦🏻♀️
I’d argue gifts are EXACTLY the reason for the season. After all, what is Jesus to us but a free gift to cover our sins? Sacrifice is a gift. You might not want your kids to question God but that’s probably going to happen anyways, regardless of what you do. Remember, “Israel” means “we who wrestle with God.” It’s okay to be skeptical and ask questions, it will only lead closer to the truth of Jesus. Merry Christmas!
You and I have a the same mindset, the biggest thing is helping your child in a true bible believing church. My 6 year old just learned that Jesus is the reason for the season and that santa is not real. There's scientific evidence of Jesus's existence. She was upset at first but now speaks in excitement that Christmas is about Jesus. Her school teaches about santa but she gets the truth from mama
It’s like it’s actually meant to distract kids intentionally from knowing and believing the truth and instead believing a lie. Giving credit and thanks to an imaginary fable rather than the Giver of life, Jesus Christ. Wholeheartedly agree with this. Why lie to your kids? Tell them the truth always.
I think at first it was just cute little stories for kids to bring a little extra fun, but the Santa of today is so over commercialized that he's lost his true origin of giving to others and loving God, especially since the more secular Christmas is gaining more popularity.
I am so glad I grew up in Peru where we always gave credit to God that Christmas was possible thanks to him. Santa Claus has been stealing the true meaning of Christmas which is just simple JESUS, no gifts, just to remember Him❤ Santa Claus is a distraction to separate us from the real meaning of celebrating Jesus birth
I’ve never thought about it this way but man it’s so true. I hate how Christmas has become nothing more than a secular corporate holiday with little mention of Jesus. Western society wants to dismantle Christianity.
My parents told me about santa. When I got old enough to know he wasn't real, I didn't look at my parents like liars. I also was old enough to realize it was tradition. I dont care one way or the other. The main part about christmas is Jesus.
I am probably mistaken, but wasn’t Saint Nicholaus before the Roman Catholic distinction? Being he was just apart of the universal christian church (catholic)?
We always told our kids it's more of an imagination game for holiday tradition. They've always known the history of Santa and his development over the years. They also know Christ wasn't born on Christmas day but have been taught the holiday through human history. My kids have a great time playing Christmas games as we recognize Christ's life daily.
This is so true. When I told one of my sons Santa wasn't real he was crushed for so long and didn't trust anything I said. I wish I'd known the Lord sooner and had never told my kids Santa is real.
I always felt it was putting an idol in front of our children, and plus, we didn't want to lie to our kids. Our kids enjoyed Christmas and anticipated the gifts and were appreciative upon receiving them.
No Santa, Tooth Fairy, or anything else like it in our house. Jesus is the reason for season and the only reason we have hope. Thank God for His perfect plan.
Old man Nick was a name for Satan long ago in Europe and they changed it to old Saint Nick. It’s based of a Satan, promise to gift for being good which means it’s not a gift at all. Thst how he always gets us. Makes us think we need to warn Gods love.
I’ve watched my cousins grow up in a house like yours. They are ok but 100% allowed their kids to celebrate and believe in Santa or the tooth fairy because they never could.
I pretended to be Santa until my son was 9. He asked me to tell him the truth rather Santa was real or not and I made sure to tell him that once he knew, he could never go back and he still wanted to know. He asked me why and I remember reading somewhere a good response so I went with it and told him that even though mommy and daddy spent our money on the gifts we still let him believe that someone else gave him the gifts because taking credit for it was never the intention and that seeing how happy he was opening the gifts was enough. The lesson was that we do nice things for people, not to be praised for it but to make others happy.
I think how I’ll do it when we have kids is from the beginning tell them we pretend about santa for fun, the way we discuss any fantasy like frozen. It exists in our imagination but Jesus is the reason for Christmas and he is real. It is concerning how the world has no problem taking Jesus out of Christmas but have no problem leaving santa.
My parents told us about Saint Nicholas and that the spirit of Saint Nicholas is very real. When we are old enough, we give gifts to children in the spirit of Saint Nicholas (or Santa). That explanation worked for me.
At least for me, looking back and seeing how my parents made Christmas fun for us as kids brings me happiness, and thankfully I didn't doubt God's existence because of it, but then again we also did a lot to celebrate Jesus' birth as well as taking part in local charities. Santa is just so over commercialized now, being seen selling toys and the "business" of Christmas instead of the joy and wonder of being together as a family and celebrating the most amazing sacrifice and miraclethat God made for us
I totally agree, along with giving santa the glory instead of God letting them know God provided their parents a job so they can give them a good christmas
I remember the day I told my son that there was no Santa Claus or no tooth fairy and no Easter Bunny and after he thought for a second he said does that mean there's no God and jesus? It really woke me up
@Fandaanx yeah it was pretty crazy I felt like crap for a while. We have a daughter now and we decided to tell her about the story of Saint Nicholas and all that and we go and do Christmas type events but she knows that he's not real. But we also made sure to let her know not to spoil it for any other kids that believe cuz that's on their parents.
When my niece was 11 she figured out Santa was a lie, and also wondered if people were lying about God and Jesus(?) I told her St Nicholas was a real person, and that the concept of Santa was (loosely) based on St Nicholas after St Nicholas passed away, and that God & Jesus are also real, because there's a really great big, popular, best-selling book that tells the story of God and his Son Jesus (along with Biblical archeology) which helped her put things in the right perspective.
Exactly. With my kids, I haven't even told them Santa is real. It is so prevalent in culture that most kids believe regardless of what you tell them until they are a certain age. Similar to unicorns, spiderman, dragons, and other things that used to exist like dinosaurs. St Nick was a real person and it is a great story to teach about having a giving heart. Also, it gives us the ability to make the connection that Jesus has the ultimate giving heart. I wish Christians would stop demonizing other Christians for things like this. Some people feel convicted by the Spirit not to do many things and others don't. Homeschooling, Santa, circumcision, drinking, wearing makeup, tatoos, etc. My pastor actually just had a great couple of sermons recently that are available to watch on TH-cam looking at the matter of loving Christians even when we are convicted by the Spirit differently in a Biblical sense.
Pastor Mark, thank you for having the couage to say this. I recently saw a quote somewhere that said " You take your kids to the mall to meet Santa, how about taking them to church to meet Jesus." When my kids were growing up, I did not like the "Santa" concept, so we downplayed it as much as possible. They did each get 1 gift from him, but the rest were from us.
This is something I pondered about when I have children one day, I want my children to have a relationship with Jesus. So that Santa and tooth fairy crap needs to stop.
Right!!! I do not understand how parents can straight up just lie to their kids and expect them to then have respect for them and believe anything they say …
Santa is a spirit of giving. That's all I've ever taught my children. It's really no different than you letting your children believe in The Muppets or any other kids show characters. It's fun. Children have great imaginations and it's fun to see them at work.
@@hjeter12 they do have great imaginations but they shouldn’t be lied to like that… all the deception tooth fairy Easter bunny etc no one pointing finger at u just saying I don’t get it..
It’s funny how people are ok telling kids about santa some creep who breaks into houses and is always watching little kids , but as soon as you bring up Jesus they are all like nah keep that Jesus stuff away from my kids lol
This man does bring valid points. I know from my own experience I knew it before my parents revealed the truth. I do believe in Jesus because of all the evidence and written accounts there is, but if I were a kid, they really wouldn't see it at that age.
Our kids were pretty young when the talk about the real St. Nicholas was had. We told them what they see around us today is a silly version of a real man who did good things. And yes, He loved God.
This is the exact reasoning my sister in law gave about 10 years ago a few years before she died. So tragic and my main reason for not being big on Santa. I don’t mind having fun with it and watching the movies but when it comes to lying to children and insisting they believe it is only setting them up for failure and to write off all supernatural things if handled improperly.
I believe God showed me this one day like 3 years ago, my son was already 11 and the truth came to me after I had lied to him for years. It's not worth it to lie to our kids, ditch santa for Jesus always.
THANK YOU Mark! This is exactly why we dont--we are calles to have childlike faith IN THE TRUTH, which means we gotta stop abusing our kids innocent faith for a lie. Teach them to have faith in what is real and true or theyll learn to believe in nothing
I didn't want to do Santa with my kids. But my very Christian mother in law insisted on it. Then one day my son said infront of grandma. Santa must be real. Why would good Christians lie on Jesus's birthday. At that moment she knew I was right.
We never did the santa or tooth fairy thing in our house. I hate lying. We just let our boys know that some kids do believe in them and not to say anything.
no intention to cast stones but... if you hate lying, maybe don't encourage your kids to lie? lying is not just "telling an untruth." neglecting or omitting the truth is as much lying as directly contradicting it is. this is the "Jesus was a good prophet" take in this sphere i think... either it's a harmless practice or it's idolatry, don't play halfsies.
I have always encouraged my children not to lie. That has nothing to do with over stepping our boundaries with other people’s children. I don’t ‘play halfies’ as you call it. Not my kids, not my place (or my children’s) to tell someone else’s child that santa isn’t real.
My parents didn’t tell me about Santa, growing up I knew he wasn’t real. I turned out just fine. If you’re looking for something exciting to tell your kids stick to the Bible. For years now the most exciting part of my year is Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Resurrection Day. It’s beyond thrilling to know my Lord loves me so much, He came to this earth, showed me The Way (Him 😊), lead by example of how I’m to live, died for my sins, and conquered death so that I could have everlasting life with Him! No lie can beat that! 🎉
I didn't grow up with Santa or the Easter bunny and I'm glad bc my parents lied enough that I didn't need my heart broken over things that were never real.
@justinwesley2423 yes it does lol... Why I was mad... I argued with a girl across the street who was 2 years older than me... She said there is no Santa and I said yes there is ..my mom would have told me if there wasn't so I go home and tell mom and she said the girl is right so I felt like my mom lied to me and I defended a lie . I got over it that same day but I was so mad for being lied to. Lol
Our kids that are old enough to understand, aged 3 and 6, know of Santa but we made sure they know the modern story is fictional and that Jesus is why we celebrate this time of year.
Crazy how a bunch of myths and stories and fables can get attached to a person who was just trying to be a good person and then he gets this huge following and everyone honours him on Dec 25th…
That’s exactly why I never told my daughter that Santa (as the culture displays him) is real. I told her about St. Nicholas and his ministry. I never wanted to give her a reason to think I’m lying to her, especially about God.
I’m sure if Nicholas was a pastor and a true man of God, he wouldn’t have wanted this kind of message about him to be spread. It’s a manipulative message that teaches your children the wrong reasons to be “good.” It teaches your children that gifts must be earned. It teaches your children that their parents are perfect and that not everyone is on the “naughty list”, which we are. No one is good but God. Just teach your children that evil is wrong because it offends God, not because it means they won’t get Christmas presents.
In our house, Santa is a fun, fictional character that we have a lot of fun making up stories about, but remembering the person who it is based on and why he did what he did. Because the Word became flesh.
The character and legend of Santa Clause were both fabricated by the marketing team of Macy's department store in New York City in the late 1800s. They combined characters like St. Nicholas and Belsnikel into one being, fashioned a red and white suit for him and spread stories about him bringing gifts to good girls and boys for Christmas. Parents bought in as a way to motivate good behavior and Macy's sold more toys because of it. From the beginning Santa Clause was about scamming people for money. And now people focus on Santa more than Christ. I'd say it's pretty satanic
Biblical giving is to be done with the one hand not knowing what the other is doing, the premise we use for Santa when our kids got old enough is that he was a real person who loved to give gifts and to carry on his memory we give gifts in that biblical principle to our family, friends or neighbors.
We tell our daughters that Jesus brings our gifts, because he is the one who provides for us. I'm in absolute disgust about Santa especially due to the fact that my mother in law doesn't mention Jesus in her home at Christmas. It's all about Santa and buttload of gifts. We came home so upset by what they made of Christmas. This is what a lot of housholds make of Christmas sadly.
I've never thought of it this way. My son is 5 and when he was younger me and his mom never did the santa thing because we wanted him to learn to appreciate where his gifts really came from. This Christmas I did Santa because we spent Christmas with my brother and his family (they do Santa). So how should I go about rectifying this without my son putting everything else I've taught him into question? I've always tried to impart the importance of honesty on him, but I dont want him to think I don't practice what I preach after coming clean on this.
I’m going to be honest skepticism is good if I didn’t have skepticism than I might just end up a Muslim or a Hindu or a Buddhist, but skepticism led me to the most evidence-packed religion in the world the one of our dear Lord Jesus Christ.
My wife and I had this discussion at least 15ish years ago and decided we were not telling our kids that santa was real for this very reason and told them there was a real St. Nick and what he did and why it turned into the whole santa thing. We didn't want to lie and make them believe it as truth and then question everything that they were taught and believed to be true.
My dad and mom and others child with me about Santa claus. They say there's a Santa Claus in every house honestly I don't want my kids is Faith to be overthrown because I want to have a good time
The irony of someone using a fictional character that you tell children about to make them behave despite using a different fictional character to manipulate children.
I have 2 children and no telling your children to believe in the magic of Christmas is not satanic or pulling them away from Jesus. It's something fun. When times are tough, kids need something fun to get their minds off all the terrible things going on in the world. Santa is us, the parents. We are the ones who create the magic and wonder of Christmas. When they get older and you tell them that you are Santa, it doesn't take away from Jesus at all people who think that need to learn to have fun and just enjoy life and our children's childhood.
@@kenyanr1 Jesus Said in Matthew 7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged" I'm going to believe what Jesus said over what John. Nice why to use scripture to judge someone though. Peace be with you
Yes this was my thought process as a kid. Why are you lying to me when I'm taught not to lie, and if Santa is fake is Jesus fake too? Of course now I know Yeshua is the true and living God but if my parents didn't correct that I might be an unbeliever
Dude, I grew up believing in Santa AND in Jesus. I was ten when I found out the truth about Santa and never ONCE did that cause me to question my parents teachings about Jesus. I still believe in Jesus and will ALWAYS believe that he was born of a virgin, grew up, taught and fed the multitudes, hand picked his apostles and taught them what and how to teach us, and that he died on the cross so we may have eternal life with him. I never viewed my parents as liars because they encouraged Santa Clause was real.
I agree. I didn't know any better with my oldest two kids but pulled a 360 with my youngest. She's 3 and I've already told her Santa is fake. My entire family turned on me 😂 it starts so simple, too, like the whole "wellll st. Nicholas WAS a real person" and "oh it's just fun, it's ok".
Yep exactly! It was magical thinking Santa was real but then kind of a betrayal of sort to realize that there is a mass lie in culture and that you’re kept in the dark as a kid. Can you trust that they told you the truth about Jesus? It seems to undermine faith in Jesus and it’s generational tradition. I’ve had very mixed emotions and regrets on my children’s childhood Christmas.
I did not know about Santa Clause until I went to Kindergarten. Then, I was allowed to go see a Santa in the store fully knowing that the story was a fable. It did not harm me.
My grown kids distinguished Santa from Jesus with no problem. They believe Jesus is God the Father who sacrificed himself on a cross to save us from our sins. They know Santa was made up for fun when they were little.
I was brought up with all of the ‘lies’ but I’ve never questioned Jesus’s reality. I don’t think kids get confused like that. But, I do agree that Santa, tooth fairy etc should be abolished, because they are lies.
This is something we have struggled with just because of the pressure of our culture and some pressure coming from grandparents. We have decided to do Saint Nicholas day in early December and talk about the importance of giving. We do candy in shoes and small gifts for the kids and spend the rest of the day giving gifts in secret to family and doing angel tree gifts. Saint Nicholas is a great Christian example and is a real human amongst the saints in heaven. The other guy is just marketing.
The first issue is where in the Bible are we taught to celebrate Christmas. God made plain his commandments and His will, there is no instruction to celethe birth of Christ...worst in the way it is being done now 🤦🏾♀️
Have fun with your kids. If they wonder about the truth about God it probally says more about your devotional life in your family. Or you’ve got Santa / Satan all wrong. Treat Marks opinion like his opinion on Calvinism.
I grew up thinking and asking questions like this. I don’t want my children to question Jesus or God. Some parents think I’m overboard but it’s simple. Jesus is the reason for the season not Santa. And gifts, I want them to know they come from mom and dad. No elf on the shelf here either.
This needs to be talked about more
I did this parenting style for months leading up to christmas morning, BUTTT my child has been being fed the fairytales of christmas from close family members and is NOW so confused and asked me if santa brought her gifts. 🤦🏻♀️
I’d argue gifts are EXACTLY the reason for the season. After all, what is Jesus to us but a free gift to cover our sins? Sacrifice is a gift. You might not want your kids to question God but that’s probably going to happen anyways, regardless of what you do. Remember, “Israel” means “we who wrestle with God.” It’s okay to be skeptical and ask questions, it will only lead closer to the truth of Jesus.
Merry Christmas!
You and I have a the same mindset, the biggest thing is helping your child in a true bible believing church.
My 6 year old just learned that Jesus is the reason for the season and that santa is not real. There's scientific evidence of Jesus's existence. She was upset at first but now speaks in excitement that Christmas is about Jesus. Her school teaches about santa but she gets the truth from mama
Jesus, let the kids experience a little magic in their young lives. Just stop.
Saint Nicholas was a real person that did wonderful Christian works. Teach your children the story of charity and loving thy neighbors as Jesus did.
Truth is better than fiction ❤😊
Amen
It’s like it’s actually meant to distract kids intentionally from knowing and believing the truth and instead believing a lie. Giving credit and thanks to an imaginary fable rather than the Giver of life, Jesus Christ. Wholeheartedly agree with this. Why lie to your kids? Tell them the truth always.
Thats What I Think Too!!
I think at first it was just cute little stories for kids to bring a little extra fun, but the Santa of today is so over commercialized that he's lost his true origin of giving to others and loving God, especially since the more secular Christmas is gaining more popularity.
Do your kids watch Disney movies? Whole lot of lies about life being taught in them too so where do you draw the line?
Speaking of telling the truth, Saint Nick was a consecrated BISHOP and honored by the Catholic and Orthodox.
Was thinking the same thing... “Bible teacher, pastor, and leader”… anything but to call him a bishop😔
Dude it’s Mark Driscoll just be glad he’s pants on today
My kids know Jesus is the reason for the season. We do not have Santa in anything. They know Jesus and that’s my legacy
Pastor Mark, Great teaching on the true meaning of Christmas!
I am so glad I grew up in Peru where we always gave credit to God that Christmas was possible thanks to him. Santa Claus has been stealing the true meaning of Christmas which is just simple JESUS, no gifts, just to remember Him❤ Santa Claus is a distraction to separate us from the real meaning of celebrating Jesus birth
I’ve never thought about it this way but man it’s so true. I hate how Christmas has become nothing more than a secular corporate holiday with little mention of Jesus. Western society wants to dismantle Christianity.
My parents told me about santa. When I got old enough to know he wasn't real, I didn't look at my parents like liars. I also was old enough to realize it was tradition. I dont care one way or the other. The main part about christmas is Jesus.
“Ancient Church”, “Pastor”… that’s an intricate dance just to avoid saying “Catholic Bishop.”
💯
Yeah. When will these guys just admit that the catholics did it first?
@@lucisauctoradvocatusaren't catholic pagan worshipers?
@@adams6138That would imply Christians are pagan worshippers 😭💀
I am probably mistaken, but wasn’t Saint Nicholaus before the Roman Catholic distinction? Being he was just apart of the universal christian church (catholic)?
Tell the truth . then the truth can be trusted !
We always told our kids it's more of an imagination game for holiday tradition. They've always known the history of Santa and his development over the years. They also know Christ wasn't born on Christmas day but have been taught the holiday through human history. My kids have a great time playing Christmas games as we recognize Christ's life daily.
This is a daily example of we live somewhere with the holy spirit and go with what's good and true. Thank you for sharing
Could you elaborate on the "imagination game"? This seems like a good idea and I would like to know for my future kids.
This is so true. When I told one of my sons Santa wasn't real he was crushed for so long and didn't trust anything I said. I wish I'd known the Lord sooner and had never told my kids Santa is real.
Great question. Teaches the kids not to trust anyone. Hopefully that translates to government too. Trust no man. Only God.
GOD blessed me with a job and the money to be able to buy the gifts..He gets all the glory & praise.
💯🙌❤️
I always felt it was putting an idol in front of our children, and plus, we didn't want to lie to our kids. Our kids enjoyed Christmas and anticipated the gifts and were appreciative upon receiving them.
No Santa, Tooth Fairy, or anything else like it in our house. Jesus is the reason for season and the only reason we have hope. Thank God for His perfect plan.
Old man Nick was a name for Satan long ago in Europe and they changed it to old Saint Nick. It’s based of a Satan, promise to gift for being good which means it’s not a gift at all. Thst how he always gets us. Makes us think we need to warn Gods love.
I’ve watched my cousins grow up in a house like yours. They are ok but 100% allowed their kids to celebrate and believe in Santa or the tooth fairy because they never could.
@ Ok, but why is lying to children okay? It goes against God’s commandments. We should *always* tell the truth.
@@Jon_007_I’m curious, what verse?
@@itzgynormous 10 commandments: Exodus 20:2-17
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS STATEMENT. I believe that the truth should be told to children and explained to them.
I pretended to be Santa until my son was 9. He asked me to tell him the truth rather Santa was real or not and I made sure to tell him that once he knew, he could never go back and he still wanted to know. He asked me why and I remember reading somewhere a good response so I went with it and told him that even though mommy and daddy spent our money on the gifts we still let him believe that someone else gave him the gifts because taking credit for it was never the intention and that seeing how happy he was opening the gifts was enough. The lesson was that we do nice things for people, not to be praised for it but to make others happy.
So it's ok to deceive as long as the reason for it has good intentions? Is it not better to be hurt by the truth than be comforted by a lie?
I think how I’ll do it when we have kids is from the beginning tell them we pretend about santa for fun, the way we discuss any fantasy like frozen. It exists in our imagination
but Jesus is the reason for Christmas and he is real.
It is concerning how the world has no problem taking Jesus out of Christmas but have no problem leaving santa.
Pretending is lying
@ Not if the kids know it’s pretend
My parents told us about Saint Nicholas and that the spirit of Saint Nicholas is very real. When we are old enough, we give gifts to children in the spirit of Saint Nicholas (or Santa). That explanation worked for me.
At least for me, looking back and seeing how my parents made Christmas fun for us as kids brings me happiness, and thankfully I didn't doubt God's existence because of it, but then again we also did a lot to celebrate Jesus' birth as well as taking part in local charities. Santa is just so over commercialized now, being seen selling toys and the "business" of Christmas instead of the joy and wonder of being together as a family and celebrating the most amazing sacrifice and miraclethat God made for us
I totally agree, along with giving santa the glory instead of God letting them know God provided their parents a job so they can give them a good christmas
I remember the day I told my son that there was no Santa Claus or no tooth fairy and no Easter Bunny and after he thought for a second he said does that mean there's no God and jesus? It really woke me up
Wow, that hit home.
@Fandaanx yeah it was pretty crazy I felt like crap for a while. We have a daughter now and we decided to tell her about the story of Saint Nicholas and all that and we go and do Christmas type events but she knows that he's not real. But we also made sure to let her know not to spoil it for any other kids that believe cuz that's on their parents.
When my niece was 11 she figured out Santa was a lie, and also wondered if people were lying about God and Jesus(?) I told her St Nicholas was a real person, and that the concept of Santa was (loosely) based on St Nicholas after St Nicholas passed away, and that God & Jesus are also real, because there's a really great big, popular, best-selling book that tells the story of God and his Son Jesus (along with Biblical archeology) which helped her put things in the right perspective.
Exactly. With my kids, I haven't even told them Santa is real. It is so prevalent in culture that most kids believe regardless of what you tell them until they are a certain age. Similar to unicorns, spiderman, dragons, and other things that used to exist like dinosaurs. St Nick was a real person and it is a great story to teach about having a giving heart. Also, it gives us the ability to make the connection that Jesus has the ultimate giving heart.
I wish Christians would stop demonizing other Christians for things like this. Some people feel convicted by the Spirit not to do many things and others don't. Homeschooling, Santa, circumcision, drinking, wearing makeup, tatoos, etc. My pastor actually just had a great couple of sermons recently that are available to watch on TH-cam looking at the matter of loving Christians even when we are convicted by the Spirit differently in a Biblical sense.
Pastor Mark, thank you for having the couage to say this. I recently saw a quote somewhere that said " You take your kids to the mall to meet Santa, how about taking them to church to meet Jesus." When my kids were growing up, I did not like the "Santa" concept, so we downplayed it as much as possible. They did each get 1 gift from him, but the rest were from us.
I agree, Pastor Mark.
This is exactly what I did with my boys- I couldn’t lie to them about Santa and woah I got words and looks from my fellow Christian people.
This is something I pondered about when I have children one day, I want my children to have a relationship with Jesus. So that Santa and tooth fairy crap needs to stop.
It's ❤ HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS❤ ON CHRISTMAS ❤
Right!!! I do not understand how parents can straight up just lie to their kids and expect them to then have respect for them and believe anything they say …
Santa is a spirit of giving. That's all I've ever taught my children. It's really no different than you letting your children believe in The Muppets or any other kids show characters. It's fun. Children have great imaginations and it's fun to see them at work.
@@hjeter12 they do have great imaginations but they shouldn’t be lied to like that… all the deception tooth fairy Easter bunny etc no one pointing finger at u just saying I don’t get it..
Jesus is the only one we believe in… Thank you Father for your sacrifice lead us in your way Lord… Amen
It’s funny how people are ok telling kids about santa some creep who breaks into houses and is always watching little kids , but as soon as you bring up Jesus they are all like nah keep that Jesus stuff away from my kids lol
This is sooo true❤
This man does bring valid points. I know from my own experience I knew it before my parents revealed the truth. I do believe in Jesus because of all the evidence and written accounts there is, but if I were a kid, they really wouldn't see it at that age.
Overthinking has never done anyone any good.
Correct! I've always thought and said the same thing and it's not a coincidence.
Our kids were pretty young when the talk about the real St. Nicholas was had.
We told them what they see around us today is a silly version of a real man who did good things. And yes, He loved God.
This is the exact reasoning my sister in law gave about 10 years ago a few years before she died. So tragic and my main reason for not being big on Santa. I don’t mind having fun with it and watching the movies but when it comes to lying to children and insisting they believe it is only setting them up for failure and to write off all supernatural things if handled improperly.
Agree 💯
I believe God showed me this one day like 3 years ago, my son was already 11 and the truth came to me after I had lied to him for years. It's not worth it to lie to our kids, ditch santa for Jesus always.
Keep sounding the ⏰⏰⏰🚨🚨🚨. Doing a great job.
THANK YOU Mark! This is exactly why we dont--we are calles to have childlike faith IN THE TRUTH, which means we gotta stop abusing our kids innocent faith for a lie. Teach them to have faith in what is real and true or theyll learn to believe in nothing
Jesus is the reason for the season
Good point! Believe one, believe all.
I didn't want to do Santa with my kids. But my very Christian mother in law insisted on it. Then one day my son said infront of grandma. Santa must be real. Why would good Christians lie on Jesus's birthday. At that moment she knew I was right.
We never did the santa or tooth fairy thing in our house. I hate lying. We just let our boys know that some kids do believe in them and not to say anything.
no intention to cast stones but... if you hate lying, maybe don't encourage your kids to lie?
lying is not just "telling an untruth." neglecting or omitting the truth is as much lying as directly contradicting it is.
this is the "Jesus was a good prophet" take in this sphere i think... either it's a harmless practice or it's idolatry, don't play halfsies.
I have always encouraged my children not to lie. That has nothing to do with over stepping our boundaries with other people’s children. I don’t ‘play halfies’ as you call it. Not my kids, not my place (or my children’s) to tell someone else’s child that santa isn’t real.
Ive been saying this same thing for years
My parents didn’t tell me about Santa, growing up I knew he wasn’t real. I turned out just fine. If you’re looking for something exciting to tell your kids stick to the Bible. For years now the most exciting part of my year is Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Resurrection Day. It’s beyond thrilling to know my Lord loves me so much, He came to this earth, showed me The Way (Him 😊), lead by example of how I’m to live, died for my sins, and conquered death so that I could have everlasting life with Him! No lie can beat that! 🎉
I didn't grow up with Santa or the Easter bunny and I'm glad bc my parents lied enough that I didn't need my heart broken over things that were never real.
I was so mad at my mom when i found out id been lied to about Santa when i found out there wasnt one.
I wasn't mad at all. When I found out Santa was really my mom putting the presents out....I said to myself "well that makes more sense"
@justinwesley2423 yes it does lol... Why I was mad... I argued with a girl across the street who was 2 years older than me... She said there is no Santa and I said yes there is ..my mom would have told me if there wasn't so I go home and tell mom and she said the girl is right so I felt like my mom lied to me and I defended a lie . I got over it that same day but I was so mad for being lied to. Lol
Our kids that are old enough to understand, aged 3 and 6, know of Santa but we made sure they know the modern story is fictional and that Jesus is why we celebrate this time of year.
Very good point
Yes thank you I have been saying this for years I got so confused when I was a little kid
Crazy how a bunch of myths and stories and fables can get attached to a person who was just trying to be a good person and then he gets this huge following and everyone honours him on Dec 25th…
I never had kids, but I don't believe I would have lied to them . I never liked going along with friends and families that told thier kids.
Good point
That’s exactly why I never told my daughter that Santa (as the culture displays him) is real. I told her about St. Nicholas and his ministry. I never wanted to give her a reason to think I’m lying to her, especially about God.
I’m sure if Nicholas was a pastor and a true man of God, he wouldn’t have wanted this kind of message about him to be spread.
It’s a manipulative message that teaches your children the wrong reasons to be “good.” It teaches your children that gifts must be earned. It teaches your children that their parents are perfect and that not everyone is on the “naughty list”, which we are. No one is good but God. Just teach your children that evil is wrong because it offends God, not because it means they won’t get Christmas presents.
Just told my wife this is what I don’t like about Christmas the other day
Exactly!!!! ❤❤❤ This is exactly why I never taught me kids Santa clause. ❤❤❤❤
In our house, Santa is a fun, fictional character that we have a lot of fun making up stories about, but remembering the person who it is based on and why he did what he did. Because the Word became flesh.
The character and legend of Santa Clause were both fabricated by the marketing team of Macy's department store in New York City in the late 1800s. They combined characters like St. Nicholas and Belsnikel into one being, fashioned a red and white suit for him and spread stories about him bringing gifts to good girls and boys for Christmas. Parents bought in as a way to motivate good behavior and Macy's sold more toys because of it. From the beginning Santa Clause was about scamming people for money. And now people focus on Santa more than Christ. I'd say it's pretty satanic
Biblical giving is to be done with the one hand not knowing what the other is doing, the premise we use for Santa when our kids got old enough is that he was a real person who loved to give gifts and to carry on his memory we give gifts in that biblical principle to our family, friends or neighbors.
Saint Nicholas was a bishop of the church
THANK YOU. i try telling ny parents this.
We tell our daughters that Jesus brings our gifts, because he is the one who provides for us. I'm in absolute disgust about Santa especially due to the fact that my mother in law doesn't mention Jesus in her home at Christmas. It's all about Santa and buttload of gifts. We came home so upset by what they made of Christmas. This is what a lot of housholds make of Christmas sadly.
For me I won't mix the Ultimate truth with any kind of lies.
I've never thought of it this way. My son is 5 and when he was younger me and his mom never did the santa thing because we wanted him to learn to appreciate where his gifts really came from. This Christmas I did Santa because we spent Christmas with my brother and his family (they do Santa). So how should I go about rectifying this without my son putting everything else I've taught him into question? I've always tried to impart the importance of honesty on him, but I dont want him to think I don't practice what I preach after coming clean on this.
I’m going to be honest skepticism is good if I didn’t have skepticism than I might just end up a Muslim or a Hindu or a Buddhist, but skepticism led me to the most evidence-packed religion in the world the one of our dear Lord Jesus Christ.
My wife and I had this discussion at least 15ish years ago and decided we were not telling our kids that santa was real for this very reason and told them there was a real St. Nick and what he did and why it turned into the whole santa thing. We didn't want to lie and make them believe it as truth and then question everything that they were taught and believed to be true.
Absolutely agree 💯
Finally, someone who tells these pagans how it is! I CELEBRATE CHRIST EVERYDAY not just on Christmas.
My dad and mom and others child with me about Santa claus. They say there's a Santa Claus in every house honestly I don't want my kids is Faith to be overthrown because I want to have a good time
Amen! We do NOT lie to our kids. Christmas is about JESUS, not Santa.
Plus, he can’t see you when you’re sleeping and know when you’re awake knows if you’ve been bad or good. Only God knows those things.
The irony of someone using a fictional character that you tell children about to make them behave despite using a different fictional character to manipulate children.
I have 2 children and no telling your children to believe in the magic of Christmas is not satanic or pulling them away from Jesus. It's something fun. When times are tough, kids need something fun to get their minds off all the terrible things going on in the world. Santa is us, the parents. We are the ones who create the magic and wonder of Christmas. When they get older and you tell them that you are Santa, it doesn't take away from Jesus at all people who think that need to learn to have fun and just enjoy life and our children's childhood.
@@Rose-db5dg Lying is a sin.
@kenyanr1 so is Judging and not loving your neighbors more than yourself
@ Wrong. John 7:24
@@kenyanr1 Jesus Said in Matthew 7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged"
I'm going to believe what Jesus said over what John.
Nice why to use scripture to judge someone though. Peace be with you
@ Your choosing rebellion. Thanks for replying though
Yes this was my thought process as a kid. Why are you lying to me when I'm taught not to lie, and if Santa is fake is Jesus fake too? Of course now I know Yeshua is the true and living God but if my parents didn't correct that I might be an unbeliever
Dude, I grew up believing in Santa AND in Jesus. I was ten when I found out the truth about Santa and never ONCE did that cause me to question my parents teachings about Jesus. I still believe in Jesus and will ALWAYS believe that he was born of a virgin, grew up, taught and fed the multitudes, hand picked his apostles and taught them what and how to teach us, and that he died on the cross so we may have eternal life with him. I never viewed my parents as liars because they encouraged Santa Clause was real.
Yes Amen❤
I agree. I didn't know any better with my oldest two kids but pulled a 360 with my youngest. She's 3 and I've already told her Santa is fake. My entire family turned on me 😂 it starts so simple, too, like the whole "wellll st. Nicholas WAS a real person" and "oh it's just fun, it's ok".
thats right
Yep exactly! It was magical thinking Santa was real but then kind of a betrayal of sort to realize that there is a mass lie in culture and that you’re kept in the dark as a kid. Can you trust that they told you the truth about Jesus? It seems to undermine faith in Jesus and it’s generational tradition. I’ve had very mixed emotions and regrets on my children’s childhood Christmas.
I did not know about Santa Clause until I went to Kindergarten. Then, I was allowed to go see a Santa in the store fully knowing that the story was a fable. It did not harm me.
My grown kids distinguished Santa from Jesus with no problem. They believe Jesus is God the Father who sacrificed himself on a cross to save us from our sins. They know Santa was made up for fun when they were little.
I was brought up with all of the ‘lies’ but I’ve never questioned Jesus’s reality.
I don’t think kids get confused like that. But, I do agree that Santa, tooth fairy etc should be abolished, because they are lies.
I tell me kids this too he was very Christlike like we should be
People overthink everything, they are also celebrate Jesus Christ birthday although it is not his birthday
St. Nicholas was a *Catholic Bishop*.
Whenever my son sees a depiction of Santa he declares "theirs that guy". That's all he will ever be is that guy.
saddest i heard from my 8 yr old grandaughter is.......Jesus isnt real.......hears it from her mother my unbelieving daughter an her bf her dad sad
"Bible-teacher, pastor, and leader". Dude really doesn't want to say that he was a BISHOP.
One of my friends moms got mad at my dad because I told my friend Santa isn’t real 😂 she wasn’t too happy.
Oh good grief….
I’d say these people are probably super fun at parties but they’re definitely not invited to any and wouldn’t be allowed to go even if they were 😂
Well explain why he's wrong
That's why I never told them about fairy tail characters
This is something we have struggled with just because of the pressure of our culture and some pressure coming from grandparents. We have decided to do Saint Nicholas day in early December and talk about the importance of giving. We do candy in shoes and small gifts for the kids and spend the rest of the day giving gifts in secret to family and doing angel tree gifts. Saint Nicholas is a great Christian example and is a real human amongst the saints in heaven. The other guy is just marketing.
Love this
The first issue is where in the Bible are we taught to celebrate Christmas. God made plain his commandments and His will, there is no instruction to celethe birth of Christ...worst in the way it is being done now 🤦🏾♀️
1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child.....look it up.
Yes everyone I know whose parents told them about Santa now have serious trust issues. 😮
Absolutely
Dont lie to your kids
Have fun with your kids. If they wonder about the truth about God it probally says more about your devotional life in your family. Or you’ve got Santa / Satan all wrong.
Treat Marks opinion like his opinion on Calvinism.