Satan likes “nice people”
I ran across this post a couple of weeks ago, and it really made me pause and think. In short: “Satan doesn’t care if you’re polite, charitable, or “a good person.” He doesn’t lose a minute of sleep if you hand out food, donate your time, or pick up trash on the side of the road. He doesn’t care how kind, gentle, or neighborly you are. He cares about one thing… that you never bow your knee to Jesus.”
It’s an incredibly true statement. Scarily true. Especially at this time of year, there are so many examples of sweet Christmas stories and beautiful acts of kindness. Generosity is heralded everywhere. Are those things bad? Of course not! However, that’s not the point.
Santa
The Santa we all are familiar with is the perfect example of “a good person.” He gives everyone gifts, assuming they’ve all been “nice.” His schtick is to keep kids in line by reminding them, “You better watch out! You better not cry… Santa Claus is coming to town!” (i.e. you’re going to miss out on all of these awesome gifts if you don’t start listening). He’s the “man in the sky” but in a red velvet suit. And I admit, as a parent, we can get desperate when correcting crazy children who need to be reeled in. Using Santa is tempting. But if you think about it, Santa is just a moralist. As long as you’re obeying on the outside, he’ll give you gifts for the holidays. It’s easy. Plus we can play the comparison game of “I must be nicer than you” since, check out all of these gifts!
Santa personifies secular salvation. We can do it ourselves. Look at all of our good deeds! We’ve earned our gifts! We’ve got this and we’re enough.
But Jesus tells us a much different story. He came to save that which was lost. Those people who recognize there’s nothing they can do to “earn” their salvation. He came not because we were so lovable and good. He came because He is good and the very definition of love.
Great story, but…
As I was reviewing Christmas titles to add to MHM’s bookstore, I kept coming across stories that were incredibly sweet (including stories about Santa), but nothing specifically about Jesus. It just made me think, for a holiday that is literally named after Christ, it’s amazing how our culture dances around the actual person of Christ.
To be clear, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – not all of our books specifically speak about the gospel or Jesus. But all of the books have something in them that are good, beautiful, and/or true. Since we know that all truth is God’s truth (as well as all goodness and beauty), stories that share these attributes are what we want to include on Mud Hen Mama.
I love sweet stories such as The Gift of the Magi. The sacrifice portrayed is heart warming. And it points to THE most beautiful story ever told. Or The Carpenter’s Gift shares a story of generosity for a family in need. This story communicates just a shadow of the generosity showed by Christ to a people in need. That would be all of us. Clearly, these are all great stories that never name the name of Christ!
Nice people too!
Just like these nice Christmas stories, we all know there are a lot of nice people out there too. Not to disregard people’s sacrifices, clear generosity, and generally treating others as more important than themselves. These are Biblical concepts that are well worth sharing with others. They can serve to remind us all to live in a way that is honorable, true, and good. Obviously these values can be manifested in secular circles as well as Christian.
However, they should also remind us that our motivation to do these acts of kindness is not to make ourselves feel better about ourselves. Or so that others can admire our thoughtfulness. Rather, it is out of joy and honor to our Savior, Who came to this earth to save a people like us. People who don’t deserve His mercy or His grace. But He gave it to us anyway.
There once was a king
There’s a great story that I heard a pastor tell years ago. He was a fantastic story teller:
There was once a king, who was visited by a poor man in his kingdom. This man came to the king with this beautiful, big carrot. He told the king, “I harvested this carrot from my garden and it’s the best thing I’ve ever grown. It’s so beautiful and good, I wanted to give it to you.” The king was pleased, and he announced that this man would be placed as his head gardener. Overjoyed, the man left to tell his family of this great honor.
One of the soldiers guarding the king saw what happened, and he thought to himself, “I’ll give the king one of the horses I have. He’ll make me head of his guard!” So he went to get the horse, came to the king, and told him, “I nurtured and took care of this beautiful horse and wanted to give it to you, oh my king!” The king responded, “Thank you” and bade him farewell.
I’m sure I didn’t recite that story quite as well as the pastor did, but the point remains. It’s not the gifts or good things we do, per se. It’s the heart behind them. Who are we trying to honor and please? Is it God? Or are we using our gifts to manipulate God and in essence, earn blessings and salvation from Him?
Not about morals
Just as the author of that post above points out, “Satan convinced people that morality equals salvation.” It gives us a feeling of entitlement, because we perceive ourselves to be good. But as we all know, our BEST acts of kindness are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).
I pray this Christmas season, we enjoy the beautiful stories and lights and gifts and delicious food. But I also pray we never forget why we celebrate. Or better said, WHO we celebrate. It’s not about the gifts. It’s not about the season. It’s about Jesus. He is worthy. He is good.
Amen?
One more thing
Here’s another friendly reminder! Besides the fantastic Christmas titles mentioned above, don’t forget to get the Mamas and Dads in your life our awesome Christmas bundles! They’re the perfect gift, especially for those who love great books, fantastic coffee with a purpose, and an awesome mug to drink said coffee out of.
Click on the images below to purchase one of our Christmas bundles!
ANNOUNCING
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