I rejected mine till the day they both died, why would I lie, so why should he?? I was not going to lie to them. My life on the street taught one very valuable lesson your word is your bond! I did not care what they thought of me, as far as I was concerned, they both died to me the day they lied to me about Santa Claus!! LOL
Which may not seem like much to most people, but I had a lot of fights in my schooldays defending what my parents told me about him! They taught me how to lie, and so it did not matter to me what they believed I said. This may sound a bit cold! And I guess it is. I of course forgive them both now, but it took Jesus to perform this function, I alone would never have had a thought about forgiving them until then!
Some parents and I said some, should ask forgiveness to their sons and daughters for leading them astray. It may not seem like much to lie to them about say Santa Claus but to some children they remember and hold a terrible grudge over what to many may be a small matter! When a son or daughter cannot believe their own parents who can they turn to??
I am 70 now never married and part of that reason is I will not lie to anyone about anything! If you suck, you suck, and if you are all right, I will tell you so, and expect the same from another. You will always know where you stand with me, I am blunt and to the point, no story to tell anyone, and I look for the same qualities in another. I am too old to play games with people, and to be honest never liked games or surprises. Hope I did not hurt anyone's feeling out there it is just me.
I wanted the respond to this fabulous post, if for no other reason, than it gives me a way to share something truly humorous and speaks into your account.
My Daughter was permitted to attend a Junior Infants School of the CofE persuasion in her fifth year.
Were she [had she been] a child of a parishioner (her parent or parents) then that election, either by the child or else by the parent, would be taken as entry. So easy peasy then one would think. As it was my wife and myself are biological Jews. So whilst I had a way to circumnavigate the religious meaning of Christmas in our home by setting it into a Hebrew meaning for our children, I would have little chance of surviving Christmas if my daughter unveiled that I had 'lied' to her about Santa Clause. And the reason we did that was simply to avoid the whole issue of a somewhat bankrupt and paganised form of valuing the profound benefit of knowing that Christ is God with Us [Emanuel] and not simply a baby who is lost to us because we have equated a faulty belief that Santa Clause is the giver of gifts that smell sweet and by sight are full of glitter, when in a manger those anointing gifts of precious anointments and fine gold to His Kingship, speak of Christ the King of Israel.
So as my daughter entered her 'new' school in the fall term, she was immediately met with endless preparations for Christmas. As I knew this would happen, I was not surprised when she came a few days later and confronted me saying 'you lied to me'.
Well I did lie to her, after all Santa does exists and so defending him seems like a very reasonable proposition for a child that desires to honour God by obeying their parents, even when they lie to their children.
Well that's the reasonable cogency of a school making of Santa Clause a thing that removes Christ in His Kingship and thus in His compassion and mercy by the sovereign hand of the Father in heaven. If we say that Santa Clause does NOT exists to a child prior to her seeing that he clearly does exist and every child and teacher and reasonable excitement erupts at the thought of presents and wonderful celebration of Christ, a babe in a manger - then in that instant of knowing by sensory experience Santa Clause does indeed exist.
You wouldn't think that little children could provoke so much parental intervention even and specially when they have sought your permission to go to the very school you are least likely to want to send her to.
So I just roared with laughter at her indignation and put her mind to rest that I would agree to the entire house being decorated with every festivity of trees and braids of gold and vivid colours and place under the tree those gifts that Santa Clause would bring all labelled with the names of my children. And I set the contract to two years before we would return to sanity. That pleased her very well, until I added that her allowance for the Holiday season of Christmas was removed and would be spent on her election and sure choice.
You were given no choice.
So if we believe that which is utterly false for sentimental and childish reasons, quiet reasonable sensing the intention in that Santa Clause claim - to dial towards God our Father and our Redeemer, What child would NOT see that as utterly worth defending?
I told my daughter from her first inclination to understand godly wisdom, that Christmas did NOT exists in her NOW life, because Christmas had replaced Christ. No more than that. And so when she saw just what a fine thing this Catholic Christmas and this English Catholic Mendicant father she had in my faith, as a reformed Calvinist NOT a Messianic Jew. she could not help but understand that the entire worth of this Catholic Christmas may just be more the affection of presents and the natural love of her father and mother - which she was easily. able to agree with seeing as that need was the entire benefit of being a small child when these things are permitted.
Defending the indefensible as a material claim of Santa Clause in a child who loves God because he loves his father and his mother is NOT a thing to get vexed about. It is a thing from which to learn what faithfulness means in our obedience when we have become accountable adults. God doesn't change - He is the same yesterday, today and forever. We are changing into His likeness day upon day. Then in the hour of His Coming (2nd Advent) we will be changed utterly and become as He is, because we will see Him as He is.
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