celebrating Christmas

[joyfulchild]

Holly

I am married with a loving and as yet unbelieving husband and 2 wonderful children(8 y.o. and 10 y.o.) who love the Lord.At the same time-they are being taken in by the "commercial" trappings of Christmas as we are surrounded by it.My question is THIS.My hubby will sing santa songs to my 8yo. who is delayed and basically to both my kids encourage SANTA belief(my 10yo no longer believes and I have explained the origins etc).He also wants a tree etc as do my kids-we have always done this.I have read HERE at this forum a quote from the bible saying that God does NOT like in fact DETESTS decorating of fir trees in gold.I think this tradition harkens back to pagan beliefs.WHAT is my role as a believer when my husband is not and of course the delicate balance of my marriage is also at stake?I feel AWFUL about this tree idea if it displeases God.Should I be outspoken or keep the peace-or somewhere in between?What will God say to me on Judgement day?

Sorry for the heavy nature -I am concerned .
Thanks
Mel

[Holly]

Hello Mel,

I believe this is an issue of individual conscience, per Romans 14, so I can only say how I personally would feel in your position. I have never had any issues with Christmas trees. We had them growing up and will have one this year and, to me, there have never been any pagan connotations in my mind. While the Christmas tree may have had pagan origins, those don't bother me today since I don't think about them. For me, Christmas is a meaningful time of worship of Christ.

This seems very similar to Romans 14, where we learn that some early Christians were bothered about eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Other Christians didn't think about those origins and so they ate the meat freely. Paul told them to do as their own consciences told them, without condemning others who felt differently about the matter. But he also warned them against violating their own conscience, as this would be sin.

If I made clear to my children -- as you are doing -- that Santa is make-believe and that the reason Christians celebrate Christmas is to celebrate Jesus' birth, then I wouldn't feel like I'm doing anything wrong by allowing them to have fun singing Santa Claus jingles. I personally feel that there are much bigger battles for us to wage.

Those are my thoughts. I hope they help. I will pray for your husband's salvation.

By the way, the biblical passage you may have heard quoted is probably from Jeremiah 10. This passage is about God detesting idols (trees that were cut and the wood was made into idols for idolatrous worship). It's not talking about modern-day Christmas trees if they are being used purely for decoration.

Holly

[joyfulchild]

THANK YOU dear Holly.I have in the past been involved in Assemblies of God stuff(like the idea that the Christian is worshipping a Christmas Tree ala pagan)and I BROKE free difficultly-ON MY OWN with NO ONE to guide me.So you can see that God led me away!I must remember this everytime I feel a "hiccup" toward their isolating cultish beliefs.Thanks for the guidance back on track -I value your opinion as I have NO MINISTER to ask such things too.Thanks again dear Sister.
Melanie