Is It Ok to Lie to Your Kids About Santa?

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Salvation in Christ Alone and the Reality of Divine Judgment

People are tired of hearing nothing but doom and despair on the radio. The message of Christianity is that salvation is found in Christ alone and any who reject Christ therefore forfeit any hope of salvation, any hope of heaven.

The issue is that humanity is in sin and the wrath of Almighty God.

Is.

Hanging over our head. They will hear his words, they will not act upon them, and when the floods of divine judgment, when the fires of wrath come, they will be consumed and they will perish. God wrapped himself in flesh, condescended, and became a man, died on the cross for sin, was resurrected on the third day, has ascended to the right hand of the Father, where he sits now to make intercession for us.

Jesus is saying there is a group of people who will hear his words, they will act upon them, and when the floods of divine judgment come in that final day, their house will stand.

Whether It Is Sinful to Lie to Children About Santa

All right, Tim, the question for today's episode is, is it okay to lie to your kids about Santa?

Well, you know, the Bible says thou shalt not bear false witness, so I'm not a big fan of lying.

Okay, well, I guess probably the disconnect for a lot of people here is they're not gonna view Santa Claus or telling your kids that Santa Claus is real as lying. So what's your response to that? Yeah, I mean if you're...

Because it's easy to say, like, well, I don't believe lying honors God, because it doesn't, right? And they're gonna agree, but then they're gonna say that telling your kids Santa Claus is real is not a lie, so I'm not sinning.

Yeah, well, they just need to get a dictionary out and look up the definition of words. I mean, you know, what they'll call it is they'll say, hey, we're playing pretend, right? And like, just what's wrong with having imagination and all that?

Yeah, and it's like, well, I mean, come on, Nick, when you're playing pretend, everyone knows it's not true, right? Yeah. So, like, that's the point. Like, so, I mean, my daughter plays pretend all the time, so she gets in little characters, and she wants you to call her, like, whatever character name she is.

And then everyone's playing pretend there because everyone knows it's not true. But, like, that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about Santa Claus. We're not talking about everyone knows that this isn't true.

We're just playing a little game here. Like, what we're talking about is, like, you're talking about lying. You're talking about deceiving your kid because if someone comes along and says, hey, you know, Santa isn't real, you're gonna be so mad at them and, you know, hate them and everything else.

And so, like, that's what we're talking about, is you're deceiving them, you know, for no reason. Like, why do you want to teach them that some fat obese man is, like, you know, sliding down their chimney and giving them presents?

I mean, it's just, it's a pagan myth, man.

And watching them when they sleep. Honestly, Santa's pretty creepy.

He is. I mean, just imagine, like, you know, sitting on that obese man's lap every year and telling him all the things you want for Christmas. I mean, there's so much in this that's just absurd and insane.

Knowing as a parent that it's just some random guy that they hired to be Santa for a few hours.

Some creepy, overweight pedophile that you're sitting on, you know, who, yeah, so, I mean, it's weird. I mean, it's, like, I mean, I think there's weird yuck factor reasons, like, the kind of things we're saying.

And then there's more substantial reasons, too. But, I mean, just to keep on going with the theme of the weirdness. I mean, I, you know, work my, you know, 40, 50 hours a week in order to provide a house for my kids.

And why do I want to give some overweight man, like, the credit for all that, you know? Like, come on, like, no, your mother and I, we bought you these presents. Like, some imaginary, you know, person didn't buy you these presents, you know?

So, I mean, I think it's weird because it's creepy. I think it's weird because, like, you shouldn't lie. You know, that's a moral issue. I think it's weird because you're giving someone else credit for the presents you gave your kids.

But then, you know, like, a lot of parents use this as some kind of ridiculous, like, teaching tool, right? Like, yeah, you better be good or Santa's not going to buy your presents kind of thing.

He's going to give you coal.

He's going to get, I mean, then you're, like, teaching some sort of works, you know, righteousness kind of system there too.

Which, by the way, I've never heard of any of those parents actually getting coal for their kids. Even if they behave really poorly.

Well, I mean, and that's where it's just like, you know, the Bible says that, like, sin leads to more sin. You know, you tell one lie and it's going to end up turning into a bunch of lies. And once you get used to it, you know, you end up just lying, lying, lying, you know?

So, you know, so it's not just the original lie. It's all the lies you have to tell to cover it up too, right? And you're just engaging in, you're just training yourself in lies and training them in lies.

And I mean, there's been plenty of people who, you know, have come along and not everyone thinks this, but I mean, there've been plenty of kids who've come along and essentially said, like, you know, you've told me that Santa was real.

And like, I learned that he wasn't real. And that really messed with my head. What are the other things that you've been lying to me about? You know, and there's been plenty of kids who've compared that to Jesus.

I thought Jesus was a big fan, like fairytale, just like Santa, because we can't see him too.

Right.

And so you become the whole Anakin meme, right?

Right.

What other lies has the council told me?

Basically, I mean, not every kid. I mean, obviously not like the thing is like, there are some people who tell the lie of do the Santa Claus lie thing. And for whatever reason, you know, there's sentimental, sappy people, whatever, who get into that kind of thing.

And yes, their kids come out unscathed and they all, you know, at some point, you know, it was a nice holiday tradition, whatever, you know, like, so, but that's not every story. And, you know, so like, yeah, obviously every kid who's been lied to about their, you know, Santa is not going to come out an atheist, whatever.

Right.

Yeah.

So, but I guess it's still, it doesn't honor the Lord to lie to your kids and it doesn't honor the Lord to, you know, lie to them about a, you know, obese fat man, you know?

Christmas, Gift-Giving, and Keeping Christ at the Center

Is there any comment to be made about like the focus that it puts on material gifts and Christmas time and, and probably to the, is there any, is there anything to the fact that it probably takes emphasis away from Christ himself?

I think that's the most significant issue that there is, is, is, so I don't, I don't know that I have like a huge reaction to like having a time during the year that's devoted to gift giving and presents.

And I think sometimes parents can make way too much out of it, like, like in terms of just, you know, there, there's like this concern that they have. So like two issues, one of them, the gift giving and one is the focus off Christ.

I think sometimes parents can just maybe overthink the gift giving problem and make it way more of a problem than it actually is. So, I mean, under the old covenant law, there was like a prescription that the Israelites were given to take a 10th of their income every year and use that, you know, to celebrate in Jerusalem, like a big feast or whatever.

Right.

And so like, that's a 10th of your income. And so the Bible, when you think about the Bible, like you read through the old Testament, there's all these feasts in the Bible and, you know, new system tells us God's given us all things richly to enjoy.

And God, like he didn't spare like blessing us. Okay. So when you think about like the creation, he, he gave us, he didn't just give us the bare minimum, some black and white world with no taste, no smell, no sights, no sounds, no nothing, you know, like everything's deprivation tank.

It felt like he didn't do that. Like he gave us like all this, right. Like he gave us all this that we see in this, I guess, a wonderful creation that he's given us to enjoy. And not only like the, the earth itself, you know, and all the variety, like grass and trees and, you know, birds and, you know, all that, you know, like sky, blue sky, green grass, but the planets and the stars and everything.

It's like, he went, like, he just lavished us with, you know, everything.

Right.

And as Christians, he's given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. He spared no expense, you know, so to speak like like the thing is he's done so much for.

Us.

And then he instructs, you know, his people just like feast, right. We need a real doctrine of like feasting to the glory of God and enjoyment. And so, I mean, I think sometimes we can just kind of be miserly and, you know, I don't think you want to approach the Christian life like as if like every, you know, good thing that you give your kid is taking away from, you know, the starving orphans in Africa with their extended bellies and the flies flying around them with the Sarah McLachlan song in the background or something.

Like you just like God's given us something to enjoy. And it's good as parents, I think, to have those moments where you're not getting into a bunch of credit card debt and you're not breaking the bank and you're being responsible and you're being reasonable, but you planned well and you just, hey, we love you.

And this is our chance to show it. And I don't think there's any, I don't think we have to overthink that too much, you know, like, unless, like, unless it's just that's all year and that's what you're doing all year long.

Right. Yeah.

Like, I don't think you have to overthink that too much, but so I think that's just a good, just a good, if the Israelites can spend 10 of their income on a yearly feast, I think we're all right, you know, provided you can afford it, you know, I think we're.

Fine.

But, you know, but I think the main thing is just like, I don't understand why we're making Christmas about Santa, you know, and that is like, I think that's the, like, this is a time where we're celebrating Jesus.

And I don't understand why it feels like, I'm sure there are probably people out there who say, Hey, what's the big deal. You know, I think you can, you can have a place for Santa and you can have a place for Christ and Christmas, but then I think you can just look at the state of Christmas right now and say that that's probably just not true.

Right.

Yeah.

Do you understand what I'm saying?

Yep.

Like, basically, you know, there is no, I mean, there, there's pretty much just no Christ and Christmas. I mean, Christ's name is literally in the holiday and, and it's more about Santa.

Yeah.

I mean, there's so much, yeah, there's so much about, you know, Santa that, you know, you have churches who don't even want to meet.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Because Jesus, you know, worshiping Jesus gets in the way of our celebration of, you know, his birthday apparently, you know, so, but I think, yeah, I think the main thing is you're taking Jesus out of this thing.

And I mean, I just don't understand it personally. I don't understand like the whole, I don't understand the appeal to it all, you know, it just doesn't sound fun to me at all to turn a holiday into Jesus, you know, about some kind of secular pagan myth.

But, you know, we, we, you know, we've never lied to our kids about it. And so we've kind of just instruct, like, we basically just, I think my, it's pretty funny. My wife told our kids about, you know, the real Santa Claus.

So she told him the, the, you know, the story about St. Nick or whatever, you know, and but basically, you know, the end of the story was he's dead, right? Like he died, right? He's not alive anymore.

And, you know, he used to be a guy who took care of kids and, you know, gave them presents and all that. And that's where some of this stuff has come from. But then they, the main takeaway that they took from that would be that whenever anyone would ask them, do you believe in Santa Claus?

They would basically say, no, Santa's not real. Or, you know, their go-to for a little bit was no, Santa's dead.

You know, that's hilarious.

That's, that's pretty good. That's pretty good.

But we never coached. I mean, like, I think some people are just overly concerned about like offending everyone and their delusions, you know, around Christmas. And yeah, we just told our kids, like, you know, if anyone asks you about it, just say you don't believe in them or whatever and, and leave it at that, be honest or whatever.

But then like, they never, I mean, they didn't never go around trying to disabuse everyone of the lies that they've been told, but we didn't, I mean, we're just not the kind of people who like are going to play into it.

Yeah.

We're not going to train our kids to be sensitive and, you know, protect people from the lies that they've been told, you know? So there's been plenty of situations where, you know, other kids ask them, you know, are they excited about Santa coming and giving them a present?

They're like, no, our parents buy us presents, Santa's dead, you know? And that was like earth shattering to them. And the parents are so mad at us. And I mean, I just, you know, I just looked at him and I said, well, you know, like this is what happens when you lie to your kids, you know, they're not going to trust you, you know?

So, you know, nothing that's hidden will not be revealed. You know, you reap what you sow. You've sowed lies, right? And you're, you're reaping distrust from your kids. You know, don't blame it on my kids.

It's your fault. You're the liar, not me. You know, we just told you the truth. So, but yeah, I'm totally callous to it, man. I could care less.

Closing Exhortation and Show Sign-Off

Okay, fair enough.

No concern whatsoever.

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