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The
Belief of a Child
by Erin Wikle
As I drove toward the grocery store with big plans to stock up
on all things Thanksgiving, I noticed the Christmas lights
adorning the lampposts and hanging from the electrical lines.
During the past three years, these special lights have always
made their appearance early in the season, but never quite
this early. Nonetheless, I wasn’t too surprised. It seems most
people have given way to the Christmas season being rushed in
while the last few pieces of Halloween candy linger in the
pantry. And Thanksgiving? What Thanksgiving?
Seeing the red and green-lit stockings, candy canes, and
angels, my nearly 6-year-old Eva asked in a very flat voice,
“Why in the world do kids think that Santa brings toys to
them? He’s not even real.”
I’m not going to lie, I died a little inside. I wanted to
scold her and say, “For crying out loud, can you just be a
child for once and live in the magic of the moment?” I quickly
recalled being 12 years old and still wanting to “believe”
even though deep inside I knew Santa was no more real than was
my passion for piano lessons.
I regained composure and addressed her “I’m 6 going on 16”
question. I assured her that while she may not believe in
Santa, a lot of kids her age did, and it wouldn’t be fair to
say otherwise to any of her friends.
I wanted Eva to have a magical Christmas experience! I didn’t
want her to be stripped of her right to believe in someone
whimsical. Do we teach our children about Jesus and why his
birth was both a necessity and a miracle? Absolutely! But
can’t we serve up a little side of Santa with our Savior?
In the middle of my moral dilemma, my internal monologue came
to a screeching halt.
Things are so different now. The childhood I was recalling,
and even projecting on my daughter, was so much simpler. Life
was not as it is now; it was much different. Here I was
warning little Eva that it wouldn’t be fair for her to tell
other children Santa wasn’t real if they believed he was; that
it wouldn’t be okay to strip them of their innocence and
wonder.
What was I talking about? Life as it is now for so many
children means what is “fair” is not an option. I’m talking
about children whose spirits have long been broken by the
verbal abuse of an unloving mother or father. Children who
battle confusion about relationships because their family is
“non-traditional.” Children who are entering puberty at a much
earlier age and are experiencing a whole world of emotional
and physical responses that weren’t meant to occur for years
to come. Children who are not just exposed to common addictive
substances, but to disturbing images and themes (e.g. vampire
series, reality TV), social media, sexting, etc. For so many
children, their innocence was stripped long before my daughter
had the idea to campaign against Santa Claus.
This shook me. So this is what I decided.
I would far rather expose, preach, live, speak, and be an
expression of truth to my daughter than urge her to hold
closely to any whimsical notions that, while intrinsically
harm no one, don’t offer her life everlasting. And don’t get
me wrong; even as I type these words, I realize how much I
wish it could be some other way. If our young people are going
to have their childlike innocence robbed and “adulthood”
thrust upon them, our response must be to cultivate within
them a certain understanding of who God is and to believe that
their bright minds hold the capacity to grow a “mature” faith.
The reality is this: Jesus is real. And Eva doesn’t need to
find comfort and temporary solace in a false identity; she
needs to understand and recognize her identity in Christ. This
is fair. This is just. Showing her, even at this early age,
who Christ is and whom she can be in Christ means equipping
her to combat the fallenness of a world that is worse off now
than it was when I was 6 years old.
We’ve no time to waste leaving the responsibility of growing
our children’s genuine love of the Lord to their Sunday school
teacher. We must take seriously the battle that is being waged
for the souls of our sweet little ones and protect them from
the enemy’s advances by raising them in homes of praise and
worship, purity, and obedience to the Lord. Count the cost and
join me in committing to be Truth and Light to our youngest
disciples.
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