Growing Up With Santa, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and Jesus

Driving home from church last night, I had a great conversation with my oldest son, Kyler, who is four. He has been on a kick recently that he is so excited about losing his teeth. I guess there are kids in his class that are beginning to lose their teeth, and, like all kids, he wants to be like them. As he was riding in his car seat, he began filling me in on the latest "Little Bear" episode that he had seen.

Little Bear had lost a tooth, and in the episode, he put his tooth under his pillow. So far, I am following his story and where he is going with it. Then the Tooth Fairy came and took his tooth and left a whistle under the pillow. At this point, I was thrilled. I thought that he was going to ask for cheap ten cent toy instead of cash, but he explained further. Little Bear was sad that he couldn't whistle due to the missing tooth, so the Tooth Fairy was going to help him out by giving him a whistle to blow.

He then proceeded to tell me his plans for losing his teeth. He wants to take his teeth and put them under his pillow and get a monster truck (proud dad). However, he didn't make mention of the Tooth Fairy bringing it; he said he wanted mommy and daddy to put a monster truck under his pillow. That made me smile.

Today's culture, even back into my generation in the late eighties, are growing up with this concept of Santa, Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. This idea is to make holidays and life events memorable and fun. Who wouldn't be excited about going and sitting on some sweating strangers lap that smells like "beef and cheese" and is some itchy red suit, right? Or standing in an extremely long line in the middle of the mall with several children just to get to the some giant rabbit that doesn't blink and lays eggs? And this one, a human sized fairy will wait until you have fallen asleep and creep into your bedroom, late at night, and take your germ infected tooth from under your head and replace it with an extremely germ infected dollar bill?

In all seriousness, these characters do make the holidays and life events very fun and memorable, but at what cost? I deal with students all the time that are struggling with the fact that Jesus is real. No longer is it a given that Jesus is who He said He is. They struggle with the reality of God, the reality of Heaven/Hell, the reality of purpose to life.

Could it be that in our attempts to inundate our children with fun and friendly characters that are so "real-like" when they are children, yet turn out to be fake (lies) as they get older, we have created a "real-like" character of Jesus in their minds that is then questioned as they mature? I am not saying that Santa is a scrambled spelling of Satan. Or that Easter Bunny is some demon-possessed creature. Or that the Tooth Fairy is some creepy sexual predator (although it is a creepy idea). I just wonder if our cultural "Characters" have hurt the reality of Jesus.

If I were taught that something was real, and I found out later that it wasn't; I would be hurt/bent toward that person and would probably distrust most, if not all, of what they told me. I, as a Pastor, and even as a Dad, don't want to send mixed messages to my sons. My hope is that they have a relationship with Jesus that shapes the way they live, transforms the way they think, and affects every person they meet. Is it worth ruining their trust in a real, living Savior to simply give the season's a little more "character"? I don't think so. For my kids, they will get gifts from Dad and Mom; they will celebrate Easter with Jesus and family; they will be rewarded for their bravery in losing their teeth by Dad and Mom. And through every season in life, they will be taught and shown JESUS.

What do you think?