Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor. . . .
Ephesians 4:25 (ESV)
Spring is finally here. Easter has come and gone, and grass-cutting season is in full swing. (Can’t say the same for my golf game . . . yet!)
On Sunday, March 27, we experienced a wonderful celebration of our Lord’s resurrection. The music and message were great. The videos were powerful. And I believe Jesus was glorified in our celebration of His sacrifice for sin and His triumph over death.
However, I seem to find myself conflicted this time of year as “Happy Easter” greetings are exchanged between friends, family, and brothers and sisters in Christ. Some refer to this special day as Resurrection Sunday, choosing to steer clear of the pagan reference to Easter. I personally find Resurrection Sunday to be a more appropriate reference to what Christians should be focusing on. But I’m not at all offended if someone wishes me “Happy Easter.” And I still use the expression myself, so I’m not throwing stones at anyone. That said, I do wish to share with you this month something I find disturbing—something that was recently punctuated by a conversation with my flesh-and-blood brother.
I recently took my brother to dinner. Over the course of our conversation, he brought up the topic of God’s existence, and he proceeded to share with me the reasons why he does not (presently) believe in the existence of God. Even so, he doesn’t knock Christianity, because he believes it does some people good—although he thinks Christians are embracing a made up story. (He actually believes my children are the greatest kids in the world, and—believe it or not—he thinks I’m amazing. And he knows we all believe Jesus is Lord!)
There are a number of reasons why my brother believes Jesus isn’t real and that the Bible is merely a collection of made up stories. But one reason is as equally astute as it is disconcerting. He observed how most parents teach their children that the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and Jesus are all real. The truth, however, eventually comes out that three of the four aren’t real. Oh, but what we’ve taught them about Jesus is TRUE!
How so?
All four of these “persons” have something in common: they are unseen. I realize Jesus has literally appeared to a few people throughout history, but for the overwhelming majority of us, we will not see Jesus until we move from mortality to immortality.
This shared, unseen quality is a potentially dangerous thing. For a brief time in a child’s life, they will believe anything mommy or daddy tells them . . . anything. When these supposed truths later turn out to be falsehoods, we have effectively taught our children that not everything mommy or daddy says is true. So, if the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus aren’t real, then we may unwittingly be planting seeds of doubt concerning Jesus.
I implore you parents and grandparents; do not lie to your children or grandchildren. Don’t tell them the Tooth Fairy is going to bring them a dollar if they put their tooth under their pillow. Don’t tell them the Easter Bunny brought them an Easter basket. And don’t tell them Santa Claus is going to bring them toys if they are good.
Oh, but it’s so cute to watch. Agreed. It is cute. But as the saying goes, “It’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt.” My brother is an apparent casualty of such upbringing.
Now, if you want to hide eggs in your yard for your children to find, that’s fine. Just don’t tell them the Easter Bunny put them there. If you want to put presents under a tree for your children at Christmas, that’s also fine. Just don’t tell them Santa brought the toys. Tell them the truth. That way, when you tell them God loves them and Jesus died for their sins, they won’t have any reason to believe you are lying to them like you did about the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus.
I realize some of you may think I’m making way too much of this. Maybe I am. It’s certainly not my intent to be little Johnny Raincloud or the Grinch, or any other party pooper you can think of. For what it’s worth, I watch movies about Santa Claus. I even label some gifts to my wife and adult children as “From: Santa.” So, I’m fine to have some fun with this stuff—at the appropriate time. But I’m also as certain of this as I am anything:
If you lie to your children about these make-believe characters, you risk eroding the parental platform God has given you to speak truth to them.
After all, if I haven’t seen the Tooth Fairy and he’s not real, and I haven’t seen the Easter Bunny and he’s not real, and I haven’t seen Santa Claus come down my chimney—and he’s not real, then maybe, just maybe . . . Jesus isn’t real either?
