Two American “Christmas” songs have been going through my head. In one, the lyrics proclaim that Santa Claus “sees you when you’re sleeping; he knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good.” Another describes him as “Up on the housetop… out jumps good old Santa Claus… with lots of toys all for the little ones’ Christmas joys.” I started thinking about those songs and realized they try to convince listeners that we have to “be good” because of Santa Claus and that getting things leads to happiness. As Christians, we rejoice in the celebration of Jesus’ birth – hopefully rather than spending too much time on things here on earth.

Only God Is Omnipotent

The first song ascribes to Santa Claus (a "right jolly old elf" who supposedly brings gifts to all good children for Christmas day) the power of omnipotence, which belongs to God alone. Only God knows all and sees all. In the Old Testament, Job declares of the Lord "I know that You can do all things; no purpose of Yours can be thwarted" (Job 42:2). And Jesus told His followers that although something might be impossible for people, "with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26)

For Goodness Sake

It is for God alone that we strive to "goodness," not for a fairy-tale character. While children are told that they can expect Christmas presents for being "good" rather than naughty, Jesus declared that "No one is good — except God alone"(Mark 10:18) Because Jesus saved me, I want to live a godly, Christian life and follow his example.

Prepare for the Lord’s Second Coming

Jesus made the phrase "Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out"(Mark 13:15) famous when He used it to discuss His Second Coming. When I hear the Santa song "Up on the Housetop," I think of how we need to prepare… not for Christmas, but for the Second time Jesus will appear on earth. Rather than focusing on what "toys" we can get, I hope we can focus on what we can give. The Lord wants us to share His Good News with the whole world: "the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come"(Matthew 24:14).It makes me want to live every day like it’s Christmas.