How Santa Is Ruining Christmas
Christmas has largely shifted away from Christ and toward a fictional figure who demands more attention, obedience, and affection than the Lord Jesus Christ ever receives during the season.
Santa is presented as omniscient (“he sees you when you’re sleeping”), a moral arbiter (“he knows if you’ve been bad or good”), and a rewarder (“he brings gifts”). Those attributes belong to God alone.
“I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins.” — Jeremiah 17:10
Yet many children today learn to fear disappointing Santa more than disobeying God, and to obey for gifts rather than out of love for truth.
Santa trains children to:
Be good for reward, not because righteousness is right
Believe a lie for the sake of tradition
Associate joy with getting, not with Christ
“Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” — Mark 7:7
Christmas today has become a season of:
Materialism instead of meditation
Fantasy instead of faith
Stress instead of sanctification
Even the wise men didn’t give gifts to each other. They gave gifts to Jesus.
“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.” — Matthew 2:11
Santa doesn’t add to Christmas. He replaces Christ in the hearts of many homes.
This isn’t about hating joy or being harsh with children. It’s about refusing to dress up a lie and calling it harmless, while the truth of Christ quietly fades into the background.
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” — 1 John 5:21