The Revelation Genesis Link
An E-Mail Series from Gariel Ministries

December 9, 2006 

 

Subject Area–Christmas Project E-Mail 2 (part 2)             

by Dorothy von Lehe

The "Celebration" of Christmas
 Four Of The Ten Commandments Broken-Part 2

 

Preparing for Christmas in 2001 had me struggling with decorating my home and a Christmas tree.  How should I decorate?  I purchased a manger scene and set it up on my dining room buffet.  I put lights on an artificial tree, but set aside many decorations and ornaments deeming them inappropriate to honoring Jesus Christ and His birth.  After Christmas, when it was time to take down the decorations, I found I did not want to remove the manger scene from my buffet and decided to leave it up as a reminder of Christ’s birth year round.  It has been on my buffet ever since. Over the next two years, I purchased some manger scene ornaments, angel ornaments and a set of simple round shaped ornaments. I could not find comfort in nor meaning to decorating a tree and putting up decorations around my home. In 2004, I did not decorate a tree or my home. In 2005, I tried decorating a tree again and put the manger scene ornaments on it.  My conclusion was I thought the tree looked silly.  Each year through 2005, I struggled with these questions: why should we decorate a tree and what does it have to do with the birth of Jesus Christ? What I was experiencing was the gentle convicting work of the Holy Spirit as He was guiding me away from the “celebration” part of Christmas and leading me into a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Jesus.

 

To decorate or not to decorate a Christmas tree is a confounding issue. Evergreen trees like the Christmas tree have deep rooted origins related to pagan rituals and celebration. (See sample article on pagan rituals and traditions included with e-mail 1 of this series)

 

However, some know a story about Martin Luther. “Legend has it that Martin Luther began the tradition of decorating trees to celebrate Christmas. One crisp Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking through snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of a group of small evergreens. Their branches, dusted with snow, shimmered in the moonlight. When he got home, he set up a little fir tree indoors so he could share this story with his children. He decorated it with candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ's birth.” (From Internet website: written by David Robson, Extension Educator, Horticulture; Springfield Extension Center)

 

God asks us to honor Him through behavior and actions that are pleasing to Him. 

In Exodus 20: 4 God’s instructions include:  

Commandment 2: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.

 

After reading the following Scripture passage and spending time examining your heart regarding this issue, I believe you will come to the conclusion that today’s versions of the Christmas tree truly place them into the category of graven image.  The Holy Bible shares God’s perspective on this particular form of graven image in Jeremiah Chapter 10 (KJV)

Starting with Jeremiah 9:14  "But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim (a false god- nature/sun god), which their fathers taught them."

Jeremiah 10: 2) "Thus saith the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen … 3) For the customs of the people are vain; for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.  4) They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.  5) … they (the deckened trees) cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.”

 

God tells us to turn our attention unto Him:
Jeremiah 10: 6 "Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee O Lord; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. 7) Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee."
Jeremiah 10:10 "But the Lord is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting King; at His wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide His indignation."

 

God’s Word goes on and reminds us:

Jeremiah 10: 14) "Every man is brutish in his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 15) They are vanity, and the work of errors; in the time of their visitation they shall perish.”

                          

As this passage tells us, decorated evergreen trees cannot do evil nor is it in them to do good.  However, the passage also tells us NOT to learn the way of the heathen for the customs of people are vain and the work of errors. Today’s Christmas tree dishonors and offends God. When I took it into my heart the understanding that the Christmas tree is truly a graven image, I disposed of all the decorations I personally had made for the Mayo Home tree including paper chains, popcorn and cranberry strings, painted nuts and cookies.  I felt a sense of sadness and disbelief that I had been a part of supporting the propagation of pagan ritual customs as part of a Christian celebration.  

 

The Christmas tree is grossly misused today.  Christians use it as an actual symbol of Christmas far more often than a manger scene and pagans (unbelievers) use it at the same time for their version of the “Xmas” or “holiday” season.  It’s overstated appearance and over use clearly works to draw attention far away from what Christmas is suppose to be about, God’s most precious gift to this sin-filled world, Jesus Christ. 

If the legend about Martin Luther is true, Luther used a small fir tree upon which he placed candles as a means of turning people’s (his children’s) attention toward God and the birth of Jesus.  When the German Christmas tree tradition began its journey to America in the 1860s, what was introduced was a small tabletop sized version. It was only IN America that the “Christmas tree” grew and became floor to ceiling in size and more and more deckened with ornaments that clearly are an offense to God. 

 

When you decorate a tree, do you do so with the same pureness of heart and purpose as did Martin Luther?  If so, no doubt God will be pleased.  If you choose to continue to decorate a tree, why not consider returning to a small tabletop sized tree adorned simply with (candles) lights and move far away from Satan’s lure of walking after the imagination of your own heart.

 

 

In E-Mail 2 (part 3) of The Celebration of Christmas: Four of The Ten Commandments Broken,
The “tradition” of Exchanging Gifts and these two commandments will be discussed:

“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless
that taketh His name in vain” and “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

 

 Go to Part 1

 

Go to Part 3

 

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