From the Christian Parenting Corner

The Christmas season is near. Once again parents are hunting for the latest and greatest toys to give to the kids. Whether it is the toy hamster or Tickle Me Elmo, the opportunities for gift giving abound. Yet is the gift of hypocrisy sneaking into the midst of the brightly wrapped packages under the tree?

What Are You DOING This Holiday Season?
Your child may see you buy and write out cards - sometimes in a kind of mass production effort of doing little more than signing the cards or signature stamping them - or run to the store and take 20 identical vases off the shelves to send to various friends and family members. While you might believe that she sees you think of others and give gifts, what she actually perceives is your lack of personal interest in the people you are remembering.

As you rush off to pick up the holiday meal from the restaurant or grocery store, you complain about the lack of fresh green beans or that certain gravy you enjoy. When you leave the venue you put a dollar into the Salvation Army kettle. While you might think that your child sees you being generous toward the poor, she actually perceives your lack of gratitude and "tipping" of the poor rather than giving to them.

The Son Can Do Only What He Sees the Father Doing
Jesus Christ - in John 5:19-20 - explained that he did the things he saw his father (God) do. This is a profound lesson in parenting: Christ does not speak of the verbal interactions he and God might have had, but instead refers to the example set by God, which he followed when he was in the flesh on earth. If this is true for Jesus and God the Father, how much more so will it be true for you and your child?

What Will Your Christmas Look Like This Year?
Will you visit the church and sing loudly about "ye faithful" and "herald angels," but forget all about them when you are trying to beat the mad dash for the store on Christmas Eve? Will you try to invite the friendless, fatherless or otherwise forgotten over the holiday season to come and break bread with your family, or will you go to great lengths of keeping the Santa Clause myth alive while neglecting the Jesus Christ truth?

Is it not time to change the "business as usual" attitude that might have marred your Christmas celebrations of yesteryear and make sure that hypocrisy is not among the cheer you spread this year?

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About Sylvia Cochran

Sylvia Cochran - Christian Parenting Corner and Common Sense Parenting and Parenting By the Book Christian Parenting Book Reviews

Sylvia is a seasoned freelance writer, born and raised in Germany. Having been exposed to a variety of religions and traditions due to travel and study, Sylvia has been a student of the Bible for more than ten years, and has for the last four years taught in small groups about Biblical principles, practical Christianity, Christian parenting, as well as the spiritual use of money. Sylvia also provides Free Online Christian Parenting Courses at Suite 101.