Santa Claus and Christians

How should Christians handle Santa Claus?  Answering this question could start a fight…which I have no intention of doing.  I’m certain that your personal background shapes how you answer this question. 

Personally, I really enjoy Christmas.  There are a lot of things I like about Christmas that really have little to do with Christmas Day.  I love Christmas Carols.  I’m not too embarrassed to admit that I look forward to rocking out to Elvis’ Blue Christmas for most of the year.  I love seeing colorful Christmas lights everywhere—the more the merrier!  I love decorating the Christmas tree.  I love seeing the lights on the tree.  Who doesn’t love seeing gifts under the tree?  I love my family’s tradition of Christmas Eve dinner, the opening of one Christmas gift, going to our church’s Christmas Eve Service, and ending the night by watching Elf (yes, you read that right).  I love the laughter and joy this season brings.

I share the previous paragraph with you so you know that I really do like this holiday.  I’m not opposed to having fun through imagination.  I’m not bunkered down teaching my kids that “Santa is just Satan spelled differently.”  However, I am very careful with how we’ve handled the issue of Santa Clause with our children and with my teaching at the church.

I love the imagination and creativity that God has given us.  I’m not looking for a history lesson on the origin of Santa Claus—I’ve already checked out his Wikipedia entry.  I’m fine with telling stories and having fun with creativity.  However, I don’t understand when parents push the line from fantasy or imagination to reality and outright deceit to their children.  I know, I know, that sounds really harsh.  I need to lighten up, right?

Have fun with your imagination.  I’m all for imagination.  I’m not suggesting that Santa can’t be a part of the Christian’s holiday plans.  God gave us creativity and imagination.  Use it, have fun with it.  Children have a special connection to the make believe that I wish I were better at reconnecting with as an adult.  I love that my kids help me tap into my inner child—my wife may not be as thrilled with this as I am.  Just leave Santa here.

Protect your children’s trust.  I have never lied to my kids about Santa.  They have always known that he is make believe, just like the tooth fairy, and any other make believe people.  I will not intentionally deceive my children for a number of reasons, but I want them to know that they can trust me no matter what.  There is nothing greater than anyone’s trust, especially your children’s.  Why would we jeopardize this trust by pitching something as truth when we ourselves know it’s just in fun?

Why this matters to me?  I’m a Christian.  Meaning, I have a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe through Jesus Christ my Lord.  I didn’t come to know Christ until I was an adult and when I did, I came to understand the overwhelming historical evidence concerning His prophetic coming, His life, death, and resurrection.   In hindsight, I see that during my youth, I’d begun to lump Jesus with Santa Claus, the Boogey Man, and Tooth Fairy.  Jesus has nothing to do with fairy tales and I want no part in deceiving my children or confusing them about who Jesus is.  This is ultimately why I take the matter of Santa so seriously in my home.  We can get our pictures taken with Santa, threaten coal for gifts if they’re naughty, but let your kids know that it is all make believe.

For the skeptics out there, I encourage you to really investigate the gospel.  My prayer is that this would be the greatest Christmas of your life.  Jesus came and died for you so that you might find life in Him.  This grace of God is indescribable and is truly the greatest gift one can receive.  Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A Thankful Heart Leads to Kindness

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So it’s Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.  I am hanging out down by the beach with my family.  It’s raining this morning and we decided that we would make a journey down the street to the Longboarder Café.  It’s a newer place with surf videos on the T.V.’s and great food.   I really like the atmosphere. 

We were half drenched with smiles on our faces, laughing, and just enjoying one another as we sloshed our way into the cafe.  We splurged and let the kids get hot chocolates and French toast.  The coffee was nice and hot and the picture of my family before me warmed my soul.  I was feeling particularly blessed and overflowing with thankfulness to God for my family.

Just about this time, three young Marines walked in the door.  I must be getting old because these Marines looked like little kids to me.  They weren’t in uniform, but Marines are easy to spot.  These three seemed a more polite and a dressed a little more respectfully than your typical 18-22 year old male.  As I was observing them, I suddenly had a flood of memories of being a young kid in the military being away from my home where friends and family are.  These times of loneliness are hard to explain, but those who have been there, know exactly what I'm saying.  I know these three guys are buddies and will be for life, but there is something about these holiday weekends that makes you yearn for home.

This morning I was reminded of the sacrifice many young men and women are making today around the world as they celebrate Thanksgiving alone.  I don’t have access to all of them, but I had these three right in front of me.   As they sat down, I looked towards my wife and said, “I think we should pay for their breakfast.”  She agreed.  As the waiter came and took our order, I told him that I would like to pay the bill for the three men across the way.  He looked a little surprised and said, “Really?”  I nodded and he walked away thinking that was really cool.

When we finished eating the waiter came with our tab and double-checked that we still wanted to pay their bill.  He then asked if I wanted to send them a message.  I said, “Just tell them we are thankful for their service.”  I was trying to figure the tip when all three of the Marines walked up to our table, looked me in the eye, shook my hand, and said, “Thank you.  That’s really cool.  It means a lot.”  I just thanked them and held back all my Navy banter.

Walking home my oldest daughter asked me why the guys came up to us.  I shared with her how the Bible says it’s better to give than to receive.  We talked about how these young guys were away from the family for Thanksgiving because they are protecting us.  I shared with her that God had blessed us and we were thankful for their service so we bought their breakfast to express our gratitude.  She thought that was really cool.

I encourage you to look for opportunities that you can express a random act of kindness.  You think you are blessing the other person, but I guarantee you will walk away super blessed!

Thankfulness Doesn't Come Easy

To be quite honest, I’ve always been a “the glass is half empty” kind of guy.  I don’t like this bent of mine, but because of this hard wiring I notice those thankful types of people.  I’ll never forget one man I met while going through Navy SEAL training.  We were a few days into the miserable rigors of Hellweek (a grueling test over 5 ½ days where only 4 cumulative hours of sleep are given) and he always had a smile on his face and was thankful every minute during this miserable week.  I never asked him why he was so thankful, but his joyful attitude was noticed by all and very contagious.

The older I grow, the more I appreciate Thanksgiving.  As a Christian, I believe this holiday celebrates a virtue followers of Christ are to embody—thankfulness! In First Thessalonians 5:16-18, the Apostle Paul instructs Christians to, “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  How do these verses become reality in a person’s life?  I think perspective is everything as it relates to thankfulness.

God desires you to be joyful and to give thanks!  In thinking about this it seems that thankfulness is the antidote to discouragement and ultimately produces joy in a person’s life.  There’s an old hymn titled Count Your Blessings.  The refrain instructs the hearer to, “Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your blessings, see what God hath done!”  There is great power in simply naming things one is thankful for because it forces the individual to back up and take the larger picture into perspective. 

Whenever a wave of discouragement comes in my family, we play the “Thankful Game” with each other.  What is this game?  I’m glad you asked.  We simply work our way through the alphabet giving thanks for something that starts with each letter. For example, I would say, “A – I am thankful for my wife Anna.  B – I am thankful for the Bible.  C – I am thankful for chocolate covered doughnuts at Petersons, etc, etc.”  I know it sounds silly, but it never ceases to amaze me how much better we feel after intentionally giving thanks for the many ways in which God has blessed us.  

God has blessed us each tremendously whether we acknowledge it or not.  My prayer is that we each would cultivate a spirit of thankfulness in our hearts.  I’m convinced that as we express our thankfulness our joy will increase.  Ultimately God is pleased with our spirit of thankfulness and others are blessed.  Albert Barnes, a theologian from the 1800’s, once said, “We can always find something to be thankful for, and there may be reasons why we ought to be thankful for even those dispensations which appear dark and frowning.”  Regardless of your present situation, what are your thankful for today?

The Christian and Halloween

This post certainly isn’t a slam on Christians who do the Halloween thing—I’m all for you dressing up, eating candy and having fun!  Personally, I’m just not really into holidays.  They sort of come and go around here—with exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I hold more of the “to each their own” when it comes to celebrating holidays. 

Halloween was nothing more than dressing up for some candy when I was growing up.  Not much has changed since then—other than the fact that I am a Christian now.  I’ve heard a lot of people claim that the celebration of Halloween has become far darker than it was 10+ years ago.  I’m not sure if that is true, or if I’m simply running with Christians these days that are more sensitive than my old SEAL buddies.  Maybe a little of both?

I’m preaching on Romans 14:1-12 this Sunday.  This passage deals with how Christians should relate with one another concerning issues of opinion and conviction that the Bible doesn’t explicating touch on.  I find that Halloween is one of these issues of opinion and conviction.  I can’t tell you the origin of Halloween, nor I am interested in you telling me either.  It is what you make of it.

That being said, I’ll never forget a Halloween when I was in Bible College.  I had class that day and the church where the seminary is located was having a Harvest Festival—you know the Christian alternative to Halloween.  I wasn’t upset that I was missing the holiday for class, but I was pretty annoyed that all the parking was taken up walking to class.  When I arrived in the classroom, I was met with an uncomfortable situation.  There was a middle-aged lady in the room weeping.  Man, I wanted to leave the room as quick as I could, but she saw me—I was stuck.

I asked what was wrong to discover she was heartbroken that the church was doing a Harvest Festival for Halloween.  Inside I thought she was making a big deal over nothing and should just grow up.  Of course I didn’t say that, but I was thinking it.  As the conversation unfolded, it turns out that this lady was raised a Pagan (literally) and Halloween was a day where they did a bunch of evil stuff.  I was shocked to hear her tell her story.  I learned the holiday was far more than pillaging candy to her as it surfaced very dark memories and the present reality for many in her family.  This conversation changed my feelings on Halloween dramatically.

Fast-forward about 11 years to today.  I still don’t make a big deal about this day.  I’m not vocal about it…just sort of slips by without commentary on my part.  I have an almost 8-year-old daughter who just hates this holiday.  Where does it come from?  I don’t know other than I believe she has a deeply sensitive conscience to spiritual things.  Yesterday she came home from an event where the teacher said the kids could wear their costumes to class next week—which falls on Halloween. 

I was sitting in my office when she approached me in anguish.  She explained that she had a real problem and wasn’t sure how to handle it.  The issue was that she didn’t want to get dressed up, she didn’t want to lie about why she won’t dress up, and she doesn’t want to condemn her friends.  What should she do?  I must pause to say that as a dad I am so proud of this little girl and her genuine walk with God.  Seriously, these moments are super special for me to help her navigate life in this world.  Nothing greater than being pastor-dad!

After she explained the problem, I shared with her the passage I was studying—Romans 14:1-12.  I found it very relevant to the problem at hand as it gives some insight to how we as Christians should handle things like Halloween.  Here are some points that I told her and I believe these apply to all Christians, regardless of your stance on Halloween.

Pray.  First and foremost, I explained that she should pray and ask God for wisdom on how to handle this.

Heed your conscience.  One’s conscience is a super special gift that God has given us.  It’s not always right, but we shouldn’t make a habit of violating it because we can damage it.  We laid out a bunch of options from going dressed up, not dressed up, not going at all, or making other plans.  My main concern is that I want my daughter to recognize her conscience and to develop a plan on how to listen to it.

You answer ultimately to God.  We so desperately want to fit in and be accepted by friends, but ultimately we must recognize that we cannot make others happy.  So the best option is live your life in a way that you think pleases God the most.  As this relates to Halloween, I can see a case for both sides.  Whatever you do, it should be for God’s glory.

Be sensitive to others.  You want to get dressed up?  No problem, just be sensitive to others.  This holiday may not be to them what it is to you.  You want nothing to do with this holiday?  Fine, don’t get dressed up, but be careful not to condemn others as it probably isn’t to them what it is to you.

There is some debate whether or not Augustine actually said these words, but I think they are an appropriate way to end this post, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.”

Misericordia Por Favor

Those illegal aliens are driving me…

How did you answer that question?  I have a rant that’s been brewing in me for a while.  I really don’t know where I’m going with this blog, but I have some things that I feel need to be said from a biblical perspective.  I also think this post may get me into some hot water, but that’s okay.  I am a patriot of this country, but my allegiance is to Christ first and foremost.

I feel that racism is growing in my part of the United States towards Hispanics.  From my perspective it seems that the majority of Hispanics are viewed as being illegal regardless of their actual status in the United States.  I’m not sure that the things I hear and the attitudes felt towards Hispanics is glorifying to Christ.

I understand that this is a complex situation.  Don’t let your mind run wild.  I am not speaking of those trying to enter our country to do us harm.  Citizen or not, we must defend and protect the innocent from evildoers.  Period.  The irony is the terrorists who have done us harm in recent years have all been here legally, but I digress.

Yes, I agree that laws should be obeyed and honored.  We see this throughout the Bible.  We have a difficult political and financial situation on our hands.  I have no intention on trying to resolve these problems in this blog.  I resist bringing up the history of how we obtained California or how we treated the Native Americans securing our land.  I don’t have the answers, but I do believe there are two issues here: 1) How should this situation be handled politically with laws?  2) How we as individuals should treat other human beings.  This, in large part, is the part that has been bugging me.

How should a Christian respond to this difficult situation?  I like what our Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  I believe this statement applies to all humans regardless of their citizenship.  Quite frankly, the illegal immigrants that I have met are extremely hard working and are trying to make a better life for themselves and their families.  I don’t blame them and I would do the same thing if I were in their shoes.  It pains me to hear Christians speaking poorly towards these people just trying to survive.

One passage that has planted itself in my heart is Leviticus 19:33-34, “When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.  The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD you God.”  Interesting passage as it relates to this subject.

One complaint I hear often relates to immigrants and the medical system.  First, I would encourage you to go to a community health clinic.  View the conditions and care they are receiving.  Hardly world class treatment and certainly not better than any American citizen would receive.  I like traveling.  I like experiencing other cultures.  I’ve never been really hurt in another country, but I certainly hope that I would receive the care I needed because I am a human and not based on my citizenship.  I hope that we as a people would care for other people in need to the best of our ability, yet sadly, in our nation people seem to care more about animals than people.

My prayer is that we who follow Christ would be a merciful people.  For it was Jesus who said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matt. 5:7) and “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).  I don’t know about you, but I’ve received a ton of mercy from God.  May we come to see people as God sees them (2 Cor. 5:16-21).

Memorial Day

My life was forever changed on June 26, 2003 when I received the call.  I could barely comprehend the words I heard, “Gunnar, Tom was shot and killed in Afghanistan.”  I have been dealing with the reality of these words for nine years now and believe they will be with me for the rest of my life.  Tom was a great Navy SEAL, husband, father of two young boys, and friend of mine.  This one death created a wake of pain and agony in the hearts of hundreds, if not thousands, of people who knew and loved Thomas E. Retzer.

This is Memorial Day.  A day set aside to remember those who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. This holiday has become a day connected with a three day weekend, BBQ, and fireworks.  I am not one to ostracize these practices as I doubt my friends who were killed in action would support me, but I encourage you to remember those who have given all in practical ways by doing something this Memorial Day and at every opportunity you are given.

This Memorial Day my family and I will go to Fort Rosecrans a National Cemetery and visit the gravestones of my many friends who gave all in their service.  Solomon says, “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man” (Ecc. 7:2).  In facing death, we faced with the brevity of our lives and are force to consider the day when we also will face our Creator.  I encourage you to visit a National Cemetery this Memorial Day.  Walk the aisles of white gravestones, remember their sacrifice, and reflect on life.

As you walk the cemetery on Memorial Day, you will likely encounter people who served with or loved those who gave all.  The Apostle Paul reminds us to “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2).  How do we bear one another’s burdens in these circumstances?  There is no way to know what any given veteran has gone through, but impact of expressing gratitude to them cannot be overstated.  A simple, “Thank you for your service and (or) sacrifice” goes a long way.  In expressing this gratitude, you are taking a small burden from them, or at least help them carry their own load (Gal. 6:5).

Be on the alert.  Be prepared to shake the hand of a service member and look them in the eye and say “Thank you for you service.  I am praying for you.”  This “thank you” is all the more powerful when it is coupled with you picking up their tab!  Big group events are great displays of gratitude, but there is none more powerful than the individual touch.  Only you can do this something!

The Attack on the Boston Marathon

Certain events are seared into our memories.  I will never forget sitting in my elementary classroom as the space shuttle exploded after lift off.  Or hearing the news of the towers falling on September 11, 2001.   I’m not sure how you heard about the events in Boston yesterday.  I was at my computer and saw someone post, “Praying for Boston.”  This peaked my interest enough to Google “Boston.”  All the top hits revealed the Boston Marathon was in progress.  Strange.  Well maybe not as I am friends with a bunch of athletes and just assumed that they were praying for friends running.

Then I saw “explosions rocks finish line” and my heart sank.  Of course I was sickened as I felt like the war against terrorism had come to our shore; again.  I know, its entirely too early to speculate who is responsible for this attack, but warrior spirit rose up within me wanting to defend and protect.  We have to wait for the evidence to come in before we can identify who is responsible for this horrible act.

It’s far too early to start answering the many questions that surface from such a horrible attack, but I feel its appropriate to share how I have processed some of my questions.

Evil exists in the heart of humanity.  I am limited in covering this subject in full, but in short, the Bible makes it clear that humanity is sinful.  I am preaching through Romans right now and phrases like “There is none righteous, not even one”, “There is none who does good”, “Their feet are swift to shed blood”, “Destruction and misery are in their path” fill the first three chapters of this powerful book.  The apostle Paul makes it clear that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).  As individuals, we are warned of the wrath of God and are encouraged to turn to Christ for life and security.

This may seem obvious, but we must recognize and understand that evil exists in our world when events like this occur.  Our culture seems to have difficulty admitting that evil does exist for one reason or another.

The role of government as revealed in Scripture.  Our government does a lot for us.  In fact, almost all political debates revolve around how much, or little, should the government do for the citizens.  As I have scoured the Scriptures, I see one, quite possibly the only, command given towards authorities like our government.  This command is presented clearly in Romans 13:4, “It is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.”  This short sentence concisely identifies the problem and how it is to be dealt with.  Evil is the problem and the government has a responsibility to inflict the wrath of God on the one who does evil.  Bringing about justice to the individual, or individuals, behind this act of terrorism should be the top priority of our government.

How are we to respond to such events?  I’m not sure if this is the proper order, but this is the order of responses that come to my mind.

My first thought is thankfulness for the work God has done in my own heart through Christ.  I recognize my capacity for anger, rage, and evil.  I can’t help but to think, “But by the grace go I.”  I totally believe it’s okay to have a little righteous anger, but in that I realize if it wasn’t for the grace of God restraining me I could have been responsible for some evil act.

Second, I am so thankful for my life and family.  I thank God that my family is safe.  How many accidents has He protected me from that I was unaware?  I’m reminded of the shortness of life.  I need to appreciate each moment as a gift.  I think this is what Solomon meant when he wrote, “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting” (Ecc. 7:2).

Third, my heart and prayers go to the victims of this which are many—from those killed, the injured, their families, and the first responders both volunteers and professionals who first responded to the victims and to the scene of the crime.

Fourth, I pray for our leaders in charge of us as Paul commands (1 Tim. 2:1-2).  I pray that they would have wisdom, discernment, and courage as they stand against evil.  They have many difficult decisions to make as they protect those they have been entrusted to protect.

Fifth, I pray for those that “bear the sword” (Rom. 13:4).  There are men and women who have been tasked to bring about justice.  I am thankful for the sheep dogs who are willing to place their personal safety second to the safety of the general population.  The weight of this responsibility on them and their families is hard to describe.  I am thankful for them and pray for them as they carry out this great responsibility.

Finally, I cry out “maranatha” which Paul writes in 1 Corinthian 16:22 and means “Our Lord, come!”  Ultimately He is the one who will restore order in this world.  I realize that He is our only hope.  We need His help and should cry out to Him.