Romans 14:5  “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.”

We live in a strange day. I have Christian friends who detest Christmas. When I was a kid the only folks we knew who didn’t celebrate Christmas were the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

I guess there were other folks around but until a few years ago I had never heard of them. It is no wonder the unsaved world has a hard time figuring Christians out. I am having a pretty hard time of it myself. Up until recently virtually no Baptists in this neck of the woods rejected the celebration of Christmas.

I am going to make several lighthearted observations.

#1. I believe many Baptists  have recently rejected Christmas to show how “super-separated” they are. I am speaking mainly of the IFB {Independent Fundamental Baptist} folks.

But the “hate Christmas” movement is also gaining popularity in the Sovereign grace and home-school movements.

Having been an IFB for many years I know how they think. I know what makes some of them tick.

Often times Christians try to outdo each other on separation.

Rejecting Christmas may pretty much be the ‘coup-de-grace’.

{I mean for all of their separation even the Amish and Mennonites celebrate Christmas}

It’s hard to be “more separated” than to reject Christmas.

Years ago I worked with a Christian man who detested Christmas. The company we worked for gave us a yearly Christmas bonus. I asked him since he didn’t believe in Christmas would it be all right if I had his bonus…He didn’t quite hate Christmas that much.

#2. I believe many modern day Christmas haters are from the “reformed” crowd. Now this crowd is hard for me to figure out also. Many of them indulge in all manner of questionable behavior but they hate the celebration of Christmas. But from what I have observed they really aren’t too concerned with being separated from the world.

For the most part they can partake in a lot of what I would call questionable or worldly activities. The primary reason why these folks hate the celebration of Christmas is because they see they see Rome behind every Christmas tree. That nasty old Pope is behind it all. In their mind they are still “reforming”,  I guess.

They have studied their history and have unfortunately  found out that their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were all basically a bunch of pagan idol worshipers.

#3. I believe many today find the rejection of Christmas appealing because they are cheapskates. The reformed or fundamentalist view {or combination of the two} will work…“any port in a storm” { I am joking here…sort of}

#4 I cannot help but see PRIDE  at times. – “We don’t do that”

NOW…

I do need to make clear…

I have never worshiped a Christmas tree.

I have never told my kids that Santa Claus is real or brought them gifts.

I have never bowed down or worshiped a nativity scene.

But I must confess…

I have some wonderful memories with regards to Christmas

I enjoy being with my friends and family during the holidays.

I enjoy the good food.

I enjoy watching my family open gifts.

I enjoy looking at the lights.

I enjoy hearing the Christmas songs.

I enjoy watching It’s a Wonderful Life and Ebenezer Scrooge and The Grinch that Stole Christmas.

Last but not least,

I have a few questions for the “Christmas haters”

Did you enjoy Christmas when you were a kid?

Has celebrating Christmas tarnished you now that you are an adult?

Are you “scarred for life”?

Do you look back on your childhood holidays as “misspent years?”

How does your family feel about your decision to reject the celebration of Christmas?

Is your family hurt over your decision to reject the Christmas holiday?

How do you think your unsaved family thinks of your decision?

Do you think your children might be bitter about your decision not to celebrate Christmas when they get older?

Yeah, yeah, I know…the catholics, the pagans, the mass…

I have a suggestion.

You could keep the good things about Christmas and throw out the bad.

As for me…

I’m going to enjoy my family.

I’m going to give and receive gifts.

I’m going to drink some eggnog.

I’m going to eat some good food.

I am going to watch It’s a Wonderful Life and Ebenezer Scrooge and The Grinch that Stole Christmas.

I am going to think about the birth of Christ and how He came to earth save His people from their sins.

It would be a good time to be a Christian.

I guess you could say, “Bah Humbug!”

But I say,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!