Yes, you have the free will to do Christmas, but do you also have a right to perpetuate the lie about Santa and his flying reindeer?

PEOPLE HAVE THE FREE WILL TO "DO" CHRISTMAS IF THEY WANT TO … but where in the Bible does it tell us we have a RIGHT TO LIE to our children, and teach them to lie?

I am writing this because, my friends, that is exactly what NORAD and the news media (and parents) do every year - by telling Americans they have "spotted Santa and his reindeer" flying across the skies of Colorado (or wherever). Santa … that MYTHICAL, made-up being that has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the birth of Messiah [who was born on the first day of one of God’s commanded festivals called Sukkot/Tabernacles]; and that this “Santa” supposedly "knows whether the children have been good or bad, and will bring them a lump of coal if they have been among bad).

Proverbs 12:22 "Lying lips are an abomination to Adonai, but those who deal faithfully are his delight." (CJB).

Note the word “abomination” in the passage above. There are many other verses which seem to suggest that lying lips are absolutely forbidden and that the liar is doomed to She'ol. Take Revelation 21:8 for example: "But as for the cowardly, the untrustworthy, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those involved with the occult and with drugs, idol-worshippers, and all liars — their destiny is the lake burning with fire and sulfur, the second death."

So, yes, lying is bad! HOWEVER … we can also see in Scripture that lying is NOT necessarily an “unpardonable sin” or that all liars are destined to the second death! Apparently, it depends on the nature of the lie. (Two wit, our three Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were ALL guilty of lying at some point – and God still used them!)

Let’s check out Exodus chapter 1 for the story of the midwives.  A new king arises (verse 8), and among the horrors he imposes on the Israelites, he orders the Hebrew midwives to kill the male children of the Hebrew women (verse 16). But the midwives let the boys live and when asked, (verse 18-19), they lied!  And then, in verse 20, we find that the midwives were not punished for their lies, rather, they prospered!

"Therefore God prospered the midwives, and the people continued to multiply and grow very powerful." (CJB).

Since Scripture does not record that the midwives were condemned to She'ol, it appears that their lie was overlooked!

Another instance: Turn to Joshua 2. Here, Rachav hid the Hebrew spies who had come to inspect the land and Yericho (verses 1-4), and she lied to the servants of the king regarding the whereabouts of the spies (verses 4-5). She lied – yet she, too, was not condemned to She'ol but was, instead, rewarded for her actions (Joshua 6:17-25).

Regardless, that does NOT mean we can simply lie whenever it suits us because – as we saw in Proverbs 12:22, lying lips ARE an abomination to Adonai! Matter of fact, other stories in the Bible reveal people who were punished for their lies! Read, for example, Acts 5:1-11.

Here's the point I’m trying to make: If you consider the two cases, Exodus and Joshua, we see the lie perpetrated was in defense of someone else. The midwives protected the innocent Hebrew babies with a lie. Rachav, protected the Hebrew spies with a lie.

This seems to be the key: A lie, if not meant for one's personal gain, pleasure, self-indulgence, or other reason of self-satisfaction or selfishness, can be credited as righteousness. Indeed, in the story of Hananyah and his wife Shappirah in Acts 5, their lie was for personal gain - and they were punished.

What does this mean to us today?

Well, we certainly should continue to follow the Torah commands and raise our children to do the same, which includes learning NOT to lie. Period. Children typically learn to lie because they are learning the covering-up of guilt or they are trying to gain something; perhaps the approval of parents, siblings or peers. In other words, their nature is to lie to protect themselves. This, they need to be taught, is categorically wrong. (In their limited minds, this is not an issue. Better that it be an "absolute" to them than a "gray area". Regardless, they should be taught not to lie. Period.)

As we grow into adults, we should gain from our adult understanding how God expects us to live and love each other; that sometimes for the protection of others, a lie may be permitted and desirable.

Note that I said "we should gain from our adult understanding how God expects us to live." We only grow in our understanding IF we keep our noses in Torah, and actually learn from Scripture what it has to offer regarding how we should live and love each other!

If we don't spend time with God, learning HIS ways, then from whom are we learning?  Lying basically remains a “gray area,” but knowing YHWH and His ways will help you to determine how to make the right choice at the time.

Anyway, referring back to that “Santa and his flying reindeer” thing: THAT IS AN OUTRIGHTT LIE … an abomination … not only because it’s a perpetuated myth; but it’s also part of a “holiday” that pretends to be one of the BIBLICAL High Holy days. 

Lying about “Santa Claus” is a biggie.  It’s not just a “little white lie” so that the kiddies can have fun!  As we have seen above, even "white lies" are deceptions intended to benefit the one who uttered them, and are clearly wrong. (See Leviticus 19:11; Proverbs 12:22). Where possible, one should always speak truthfully, especially friends, relatives, neighbors. (Ephesians 4:25).

Please think about that.