WIKILEAKS ABOUT SANTA

WikiLeaks is a website run by The Sunshine Press. Americans should relate it to many of our states' Sunshine Laws; both are the result of people determined to bring the truth to the public. Recently, WikiLeaks has caused our government great embarrassment by releasing confidential communications between officials, which were never intended to be seen by the American public, let alone by other nations. Some of that information has been said to endanger our troops and the lives of our allies in Afghanistan. My response to the unveiling of this, or any other information that undermines America's efforts to bring peace to our world, is that doing so is an act of treason.

That being said, nearly all of the documents which have been released do nothing more than reveal the shallowness and arrogance of our government officials, and the governments of other nations. The Bible teaches us that eventually, everything that is said in private will "come to light" (Lk. 12:3). So, if you have a disrespectful attitude toward those in authority, and if you do not want what you are about to say to be made public, keep your opinion to yourself! If what you have to say may endanger the lives of others, then instead of classifying the material as Confidential, make it Secret or Top Secret.

This brings me to the purpose of this post. Once someone discovers that we have been untruthful or "two-faced," he no longer trusts us. Christians seem amazed when their children don't turn out the way they had hoped. They see them as disrespectful and are puzzled by their rebellion. But think about this, why should your child believe what you tell them about Jesus, when many of the "heroes" of whom you have taught them, turn out to be fairy tales? From the time a child loses his first tooth, until one of his classmates "burst his bubble" about Christmas, he has been lied to about the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus. Our Christmas carols describe things differently than they are revealed in the Bible. We smile and shake the pastor's hand, telling him what a great service it was, and then criticize it on our trip to a restaurant where we tip a waiter at a higher percentage than we gave to God's work. Why should our children believe what we say?

Instead of telling them about Santa, why not tell them of how Wise Men (number unknown) traveled hundreds of miles to offer precious gifts to the Son of God, Who was no longer in a manger, but was living in a house (Matt. 2:1-11)? Why not give a child a coin for a lost tooth, rather than credit the benevolence to an imaginary figure? What possible good comes from teaching that a rabbit hides eggs, when the meaning of the holiday is far more wonderful? The One whose birthday we celebrate, the One who rose from the grave, is coming back! If we are not truthful and don't get excited about His first "visit," why should our children understand the significance of His return? Do we really want our children to discover we make stuff up? Christmas and Easter should be the easiest times of the year to win the lost to Christ; don't waste the opportunity!