Why Santa Isn't Welcome In Our House

Over the years, we have chosen not to include Santa Claus in our Christmas stories and decorations. There are several reasons.

First, fairy tales are fun and we enjoy them, but we don’t ask our children to believe them.

Santa has  some God- like characteristics

     He’s omniscient—he sees everything you do.

        He rewards you if you’re good.

        He’s omnipresent—at least, he can be everywhere in
        one night.

        He gives you good gifts.

        He’s the most famous “old man in the sky” figure.

These are characteristics reserved only for God. 

For example, does Santa really care if we’re bad or good? Think of the most awful kid you can remember. Did he or she ever not get gifts from Santa?

What about Santa’s spying and then rewarding you if you’re good enough? That’s not the way God operates. He gave us his gift—his Son—even though we weren’t good at all. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). He gave his gift to us to make us good, not because we had proved ourselves good enough.

Helping our children understand God as much as they’re able at whatever age they are is our primary goal. But we’ve also seen some other encouraging effects of not including Santa in our celebration.

            We want our kids to know where presents come
         from.  

Our gifts are already under the tree. Our kids know that we bought them, we wrapped them, and we can’t wait to give them to them! They understand that those gifts cost money out of our pockets. It’s not that I want to hold over their heads the financial sacrifices that come with giving gifts to them, but I do want them to be grateful, both to us as their parents, and to God who provides us with jobs so we can have money to buy gifts.

Second, I think most children know their family’s usual giving patterns for birthday and special events. They tend to have an instinct about their family’s typical spending levels and abilities. Knowing that their Christmas gifts come from the people they love, rather than from a bottomless sack, can help diminish the “I-want-this, give-me-that” syndrome.

And finally, when children know that God’s generosity is reflected by God’s people, it tends to encourage a sense of responsibility about helping make Christmas good for others.

       Because of the baby in the manger.  

The most important reason not to include Santa in our Christmas is because it isn’t about him. It’s about Immanuel—God with us! I know there are many other good things that creep into our holiday celebrations such as time with family, good food, and gifts, let anything to from the wonder of the King who came to earth to die for their sins. What about you? What will you do to keep your family focused on Jesus this Christmas?

A wife of noble character who can find?

I thought we would take a look at the Proverbs 31 woman, verse by verse starting at verse 10.

1. • 
     
     

     Proverbs 31:10--. Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies”This woman is the wife of an elder in the city. She has a good reputation herself, bringing a good reputation to her family. She keeps her husband in mind for good things, and will not cause him problems.

     
     

     
     

      A virtuous woman is a woman of strength, who has the power of her own strength and knows how to manage other people, one that is spiritual and productive, and a help meet for a man. . Her price is far above rubies, and all the rich ornaments with which vain women adorn themselves. The more extraordinary such good wives are the more they are to be valued.

     
     

     
     

     Those that are fine really will be excellent comparatively. A good woman, if she be brought into the marriage state, will be a good wife, and make it her business to please her husband, 1 Co. 7:34 . Though she is a woman of strength herself,  her desire is to her husband, to know his mind that she may adjust herself to it, and she is willing that she will be submissive to him.   She conducts herself so that he may put his entire confidence in her. He trusts in her loyalty, which she never gave him the any occasion to suspect or to entertain any jealousy of; she is not gloomy and reserved, but modest and serious, and has all the marks of virtue in her expression and behavior; her husband knows it, and therefore his heart doth safely trust in her. He trusts in her conduct, that she will speak in all companies, and act in all affairs, with prudence and discretion, so as not to cause him either damage or reproach. He trusts in her loyalty to his interests, and that she will never be disloyal to his counsels nor have any interest separate from that of his family.  She is a good wife that is fit to be trusted, and he is a good husband that will leave it to such a wife to manage for him.  He thinks himself so happy in her that he does not envy those who have most of the wealth of this world, he does not need it, and he has enough, having such a wife. Happy is the couple that has such a satisfaction as this in each other!