The unbelieving spouse... & the celebration of CHRISTMAS
This is about the nuances, difficulties and frustrations in living with those whom we love but who also see nothing as it has been revealed to us. Even when I did not understand Christmas and celebrated it, there was always something about it that was suspicious, in spite of the drug-like emotion of it. None of the apostles wrote of the celebration of the birth of Jesus, neither was it mentioned in the first church. And the thing about the 25th of December had a strange aurora about it and I often wondered about that specifically.
There is a relationship between the Emperor Constantine and the Sun-god Mithra and the scenario concerning Constantine and the seduction of the elders by Satin through him. I found the following in the Catholic Encyclopedia concerning the Roman sun god.
Sunday was kept holy in honor of Mithra, and the sixteenth of each month was sacred to him as mediator. The 25th day of December was observed as his birthday. No matter what they say… this is why the 25th of December is what it is! This understanding says a lot about the cruel and diabolical reason behind the spirit of Christmas and much more evil besides Christmas.
Much has been written concerning the dark side of Christmas and many have done an excellent job of laying out the history of the rise of this deception. Even the History Channel has raised some interesting questions. For those who do not understand why we do not celebrate Christmas check the Threshing Floor; there we can find a good explanation, as well as a scriptural and historical breakdown.
Concerning the celebration of the gods of Christmas: if we have unbelieving spouses, the more unbelieving the spouse the better for the believer in many cases. By that I mean, God help us if our spouses are traditional Christian, Sunday-go-to-meeting zealots, who are into Christmas all the way down to Santa Clause himself. These days, most everybody is forced into Christmas in some way, whether we want to be or not. Our jobs put us into Christmas, our friends, relatives and neighbors build the temples of their gods all around us with their house lights, Christmas music and the, ever-so-annoying Christmas greetings.
Nevertheless, many people, if not most, do not take the Lord seriously; for this group, Christmas is simply a fun time of the year. They are into it for that reason and that reason alone. Professing Christians on the other hand, who interact with the spirit of Christmas, are deceived and they participate in the greatest anti-truth tradition ever known to mankind.
The Christian religion is solely responsible for intoxicating a large portion of the world with the spirit of Christmas. Christmas is actually many evil spirits and “they” are celebrated, worshiped and perpetrated by Christians all over the world in numerous pagan ways.
Anyway… even after saying all of the above, here we go again with that word “balance.” This is one time of the year when we are exposed; other times we are pretty much un-discerned. Most of us cannot escape the “unholy-days” so we have to endure a lot of painful misunderstandings; this emotional pain has many facets both natural and spiritual.
We who understand the truth about Christmas do not all have the same “Christmas situation”; our individual difficulty and often, the severity of dealing with loved ones will differ between one individual and another. Every-single-one of us should take note of this. Because of the differences in each individual’s situation, there is no standard procedure that covers all the bases for our actions or non-actions concerning our testimony against Christmas.
When those of the world (Christian or otherwise) who embrace Christmas understand our testimony they often become very angry and those who support their anger are quick to assemble behind them against us.
Balance for an enlightened believer, who also has an unbelieving spouse, can be very interesting (to say the least) during this time of year. For married couples with an unequal yoke, who also have children, we find yet another layer of tar paper. Through this door, the in-laws and possibly the grandparents and various other relatives often get involved. We, who walk the walk and talk the talk, all know this story. Christmas is an emotionally charged celebration in which much of the world participates and the pressure can be enormous on the spiritual non-conformist. This attitude has birthed the story of the Grinch, which is a statement against non-conformity aimed at poisoning the minds of children.
The question is… what to do? If we have a “believing and enlightened” spouse, we can circle the wagons and let the storm pass. On the other hand if our spouse is an “unbelieving Christmas freak” or a “Christian zealot”, we can have a rough time. I do not say “rough time” lightly. For some, this situation alone could be the first stone in the foundation of divorce.
It is absolutely necessary to make a statement to those who we cannot avoid during the Christmas season. These are our totally ungodly and our non-enlightened “Christian” loved ones. This has to do with our testimony against the greatest lie ever told. Nevertheless we cannot hope that they will ever stop the train of Christmas simply because “the Grinch” does not want to ride.
We must be specific and say plainly that we have found Christmas to be ungodly and that we cannot in a good conscience participate in it. Say what we mean and mean what we say but be as diplomatic and polite as possible. For some of our loved ones it is good to be brief; a picture may be worth a thousand words… but not to the hard-core blind.
We are not out to hurt people but often they will be offended or take the declaration with a great deal of pain. Seldom will grandma or uncle Pete realize that their pain is also ours and that will twist the knife in our hearts as well. This is not an excuse to wimp out and compromise simply to make grandma or the kids happy. Sometimes because of the great spiritual-emotional power behind Christmas, loved ones can become aggressive in intending to force Christmas upon us, thinking that they do God a service. We might have to stand our ground and that can mean serious trouble. The Christmas season can be dangerous for some of us, nevertheless, let good solid balance rule!
During World War Two, the overly zealous Kamikaze pilots had to be cautioned not to be so anxious to die that they would forget to think about accuracy in guiding their aircraft. That was a good example of balance. Every individual’s Christmas situation is not the same… so things must be thought out and we should always seek the will of God before we engage the mouth. It is possible to throw gasoline on a small fire by saying more than is necessary. It is often bad enough with a simple statement but if we go into preaching mode when we should not there can be an explosion.
Ungodly people (Christian and otherwise) cannot see the evil in Christmas… even if we stand on our heads and bounce up and down to try to explain it.
I do not give Christmas gifts to young or old, children, grandchildren, brother, sister or wife. And I tell them not to buy gifts for me because I do not believe in or participate in Christmas. This is received like the proverbial “turd in a punch bowl.” Many see it as weird and others are grievously hurt by it. Nevertheless, this act is (for us) very serious and should be a very unmistakable statement to them. Some will be, for spite or stubbornness, persistent in bringing or sending gifts regardless of your request.
There is nothing wrong with an acquaintance or loved one giving us gifts but not at the Christmas season. Tell them, if they want to give you a gift, to do it at some other time during the year when it has nothing to do with Christmas.
Some of us are in situations where we cannot avoid Christmas feasts and celebrations. This is especially true of those whose work environment requires their presence and participation over the holidays with those who are totally into the spirit of it. At some point in all this we are going to eat dinner on Christmas day, regardless of others eating and toasting Santa Clause, while singing Jingle Bells and other Christmas melodies. When we eat at a restaurant on Christmas day, other people are eating Christmas dinner (with their hearts totally into it) undiscerning of the fact that we (in our hearts) are simply eating. The point is that in many situations Christmas is happening all around us and we can only escape in our hearts.
For those with unbelieving spouses many situations arise that are beyond our control. His or her parents, who are at the house on Christmas day are expecting and looking forward to eating Christmas dinner. The spouse and the parents, do this knowing that we are not participating. But they don’t care! We are outnumbered by heathens, who as I said before are not stopping the Christmas train for those that are considered to be a Grinch.
That same spouse and her parents, may also put up Christmas decorations, buy a tree and put gifts under it for the kids. So now our children are sucked into the Christmas bag.
Battles can arise between people about these things and not only Christmas but Halloween and Easter as well. The best thing is to try to keep the peace in the relationship without fighting over it, if that is at all possible. Nevertheless, if a spouse does not receive the truth and is locked into that category by choice and personal tradition, there is not much we can do about it. People have free choice and God is not going to force them to change. Sometimes this situation is tolerable and sometimes it is not.
This is the very reason that Paul advised that we should not marry unbelievers. And that was directly because of idol worship, of which Christmas is a derivative. Believing and “enlightened” spouses are hard to come by in this world; many of us do, therefore, marry those who do not believe. I’m not endorsing it but simply stating it as a fact. Some of us have “Christian” spouses who are still in the bondage of religion; others, have husbands or wives who have turned away from the Lord and then there are those who come to the Lord and their spouse did not.
The reality is that many of us have this often painful situation. We should do the best we can in this situation. If our spouse is content to live with us and our peculiar devotions, so be it. Nevertheless, if our spirituality is a source of contention so intense that peace is impossible, we will one day reach the point where we cannot take another day and will pull the ripcord. Such is life.
It is not wise to love a spouse to the point where we compromise our holiness simply for their happiness. I know this to be a hard decision! In fact, we should never allow ourselves to love anyone that much. This never pleases the Lord and thinking that these compromises will make things better is never the correct choice; compromise leads to bondage. Gently and calmly (as you can) stand your ground.
On the other hand, with us, balance is still a huge issue. It is like leading the donkey to water on the Sabbath day… being an exception to the rule. Would some of us refuse to put out the fire on Uncle Pete’s Christmas tree because we do not want to handle something that is unclean? Would we refuse to pick up a can of cranberries for grandma because we know it will be used for a “Christmas” meal?
There are numerous other situations where the decision to do or not do could have dire consequences, some could be righteous and others terribly foolish. We can see here where wisdom and understanding MUST be the head and zeal the tail. Unfortunately… wisdom and understanding does not arrive the day after we begin to receive the truth. For the young in this light… seek the council of an elder! You will not be sorry. Every individual must follow the leading of the Lord for each situation and what was good for today may not be good for tomorrow.
Our devotion to truth is serious business. As I have said many times before, this is not a game or a walk in the park. Therefore, we should not allow romantic love or any love to impede our ability to have control over our holiness.
On the other hand, a good attitude towards keeping the integrity of the marriage moving in a positive direction is a good thing. It is by all means doable if the two can come to an agreement upon it.
Contrary to popular belief, marriage is a thing of and for the flesh; it is not holy! If marriage were holy, it would extend beyond the grave but as we know the grave is where it stops. This in itself is sobering and something to seriously consider. Marriage is an agreement between a man and a woman concerning partnership and devotion to each other for the duration of life. This has NOTHING to do with any church or government. It is also a safe and ordained method to vent sexual pressure… which God has imposed upon us. A holy endeavor in marriage would be teaching our children to fear the Lord; nevertheless, it is never a guarantee that they will.
Jaytee Bee
This is about the nuances, difficulties and frustrations in living with those whom we love but who also see nothing as it has been revealed to us. Even when I did not understand Christmas and celebrated it, there was always something about it that was suspicious, in spite of the drug-like emotion of it. None of the apostles wrote of the celebration of the birth of Jesus, neither was it mentioned in the first church. And the thing about the 25th of December had a strange aurora about it and I often wondered about that specifically.
There is a relationship between the Emperor Constantine and the Sun-god Mithra and the scenario concerning Constantine and the seduction of the elders by Satin through him. I found the following in the Catholic Encyclopedia concerning the Roman sun god.
Sunday was kept holy in honor of Mithra, and the sixteenth of each month was sacred to him as mediator. The 25th day of December was observed as his birthday. No matter what they say… this is why the 25th of December is what it is! This understanding says a lot about the cruel and diabolical reason behind the spirit of Christmas and much more evil besides Christmas.
Much has been written concerning the dark side of Christmas and many have done an excellent job of laying out the history of the rise of this deception. Even the History Channel has raised some interesting questions. For those who do not understand why we do not celebrate Christmas check the Threshing Floor; there we can find a good explanation, as well as a scriptural and historical breakdown.
Concerning the celebration of the gods of Christmas: if we have unbelieving spouses, the more unbelieving the spouse the better for the believer in many cases. By that I mean, God help us if our spouses are traditional Christian, Sunday-go-to-meeting zealots, who are into Christmas all the way down to Santa Clause himself. These days, most everybody is forced into Christmas in some way, whether we want to be or not. Our jobs put us into Christmas, our friends, relatives and neighbors build the temples of their gods all around us with their house lights, Christmas music and the, ever-so-annoying Christmas greetings.
Nevertheless, many people, if not most, do not take the Lord seriously; for this group, Christmas is simply a fun time of the year. They are into it for that reason and that reason alone. Professing Christians on the other hand, who interact with the spirit of Christmas, are deceived and they participate in the greatest anti-truth tradition ever known to mankind.
The Christian religion is solely responsible for intoxicating a large portion of the world with the spirit of Christmas. Christmas is actually many evil spirits and “they” are celebrated, worshiped and perpetrated by Christians all over the world in numerous pagan ways.
Anyway… even after saying all of the above, here we go again with that word “balance.” This is one time of the year when we are exposed; other times we are pretty much un-discerned. Most of us cannot escape the “unholy-days” so we have to endure a lot of painful misunderstandings; this emotional pain has many facets both natural and spiritual.
We who understand the truth about Christmas do not all have the same “Christmas situation”; our individual difficulty and often, the severity of dealing with loved ones will differ between one individual and another. Every-single-one of us should take note of this. Because of the differences in each individual’s situation, there is no standard procedure that covers all the bases for our actions or non-actions concerning our testimony against Christmas.
When those of the world (Christian or otherwise) who embrace Christmas understand our testimony they often become very angry and those who support their anger are quick to assemble behind them against us.
Balance for an enlightened believer, who also has an unbelieving spouse, can be very interesting (to say the least) during this time of year. For married couples with an unequal yoke, who also have children, we find yet another layer of tar paper. Through this door, the in-laws and possibly the grandparents and various other relatives often get involved. We, who walk the walk and talk the talk, all know this story. Christmas is an emotionally charged celebration in which much of the world participates and the pressure can be enormous on the spiritual non-conformist. This attitude has birthed the story of the Grinch, which is a statement against non-conformity aimed at poisoning the minds of children.
The question is… what to do? If we have a “believing and enlightened” spouse, we can circle the wagons and let the storm pass. On the other hand if our spouse is an “unbelieving Christmas freak” or a “Christian zealot”, we can have a rough time. I do not say “rough time” lightly. For some, this situation alone could be the first stone in the foundation of divorce.
It is absolutely necessary to make a statement to those who we cannot avoid during the Christmas season. These are our totally ungodly and our non-enlightened “Christian” loved ones. This has to do with our testimony against the greatest lie ever told. Nevertheless we cannot hope that they will ever stop the train of Christmas simply because “the Grinch” does not want to ride.
We must be specific and say plainly that we have found Christmas to be ungodly and that we cannot in a good conscience participate in it. Say what we mean and mean what we say but be as diplomatic and polite as possible. For some of our loved ones it is good to be brief; a picture may be worth a thousand words… but not to the hard-core blind.
We are not out to hurt people but often they will be offended or take the declaration with a great deal of pain. Seldom will grandma or uncle Pete realize that their pain is also ours and that will twist the knife in our hearts as well. This is not an excuse to wimp out and compromise simply to make grandma or the kids happy. Sometimes because of the great spiritual-emotional power behind Christmas, loved ones can become aggressive in intending to force Christmas upon us, thinking that they do God a service. We might have to stand our ground and that can mean serious trouble. The Christmas season can be dangerous for some of us, nevertheless, let good solid balance rule!
During World War Two, the overly zealous Kamikaze pilots had to be cautioned not to be so anxious to die that they would forget to think about accuracy in guiding their aircraft. That was a good example of balance. Every individual’s Christmas situation is not the same… so things must be thought out and we should always seek the will of God before we engage the mouth. It is possible to throw gasoline on a small fire by saying more than is necessary. It is often bad enough with a simple statement but if we go into preaching mode when we should not there can be an explosion.
Ungodly people (Christian and otherwise) cannot see the evil in Christmas… even if we stand on our heads and bounce up and down to try to explain it.
I do not give Christmas gifts to young or old, children, grandchildren, brother, sister or wife. And I tell them not to buy gifts for me because I do not believe in or participate in Christmas. This is received like the proverbial “turd in a punch bowl.” Many see it as weird and others are grievously hurt by it. Nevertheless, this act is (for us) very serious and should be a very unmistakable statement to them. Some will be, for spite or stubbornness, persistent in bringing or sending gifts regardless of your request.
There is nothing wrong with an acquaintance or loved one giving us gifts but not at the Christmas season. Tell them, if they want to give you a gift, to do it at some other time during the year when it has nothing to do with Christmas.
Some of us are in situations where we cannot avoid Christmas feasts and celebrations. This is especially true of those whose work environment requires their presence and participation over the holidays with those who are totally into the spirit of it. At some point in all this we are going to eat dinner on Christmas day, regardless of others eating and toasting Santa Clause, while singing Jingle Bells and other Christmas melodies. When we eat at a restaurant on Christmas day, other people are eating Christmas dinner (with their hearts totally into it) undiscerning of the fact that we (in our hearts) are simply eating. The point is that in many situations Christmas is happening all around us and we can only escape in our hearts.
For those with unbelieving spouses many situations arise that are beyond our control. His or her parents, who are at the house on Christmas day are expecting and looking forward to eating Christmas dinner. The spouse and the parents, do this knowing that we are not participating. But they don’t care! We are outnumbered by heathens, who as I said before are not stopping the Christmas train for those that are considered to be a Grinch.
That same spouse and her parents, may also put up Christmas decorations, buy a tree and put gifts under it for the kids. So now our children are sucked into the Christmas bag.
Battles can arise between people about these things and not only Christmas but Halloween and Easter as well. The best thing is to try to keep the peace in the relationship without fighting over it, if that is at all possible. Nevertheless, if a spouse does not receive the truth and is locked into that category by choice and personal tradition, there is not much we can do about it. People have free choice and God is not going to force them to change. Sometimes this situation is tolerable and sometimes it is not.
This is the very reason that Paul advised that we should not marry unbelievers. And that was directly because of idol worship, of which Christmas is a derivative. Believing and “enlightened” spouses are hard to come by in this world; many of us do, therefore, marry those who do not believe. I’m not endorsing it but simply stating it as a fact. Some of us have “Christian” spouses who are still in the bondage of religion; others, have husbands or wives who have turned away from the Lord and then there are those who come to the Lord and their spouse did not.
The reality is that many of us have this often painful situation. We should do the best we can in this situation. If our spouse is content to live with us and our peculiar devotions, so be it. Nevertheless, if our spirituality is a source of contention so intense that peace is impossible, we will one day reach the point where we cannot take another day and will pull the ripcord. Such is life.
It is not wise to love a spouse to the point where we compromise our holiness simply for their happiness. I know this to be a hard decision! In fact, we should never allow ourselves to love anyone that much. This never pleases the Lord and thinking that these compromises will make things better is never the correct choice; compromise leads to bondage. Gently and calmly (as you can) stand your ground.
On the other hand, with us, balance is still a huge issue. It is like leading the donkey to water on the Sabbath day… being an exception to the rule. Would some of us refuse to put out the fire on Uncle Pete’s Christmas tree because we do not want to handle something that is unclean? Would we refuse to pick up a can of cranberries for grandma because we know it will be used for a “Christmas” meal?
There are numerous other situations where the decision to do or not do could have dire consequences, some could be righteous and others terribly foolish. We can see here where wisdom and understanding MUST be the head and zeal the tail. Unfortunately… wisdom and understanding does not arrive the day after we begin to receive the truth. For the young in this light… seek the council of an elder! You will not be sorry. Every individual must follow the leading of the Lord for each situation and what was good for today may not be good for tomorrow.
Our devotion to truth is serious business. As I have said many times before, this is not a game or a walk in the park. Therefore, we should not allow romantic love or any love to impede our ability to have control over our holiness.
On the other hand, a good attitude towards keeping the integrity of the marriage moving in a positive direction is a good thing. It is by all means doable if the two can come to an agreement upon it.
Contrary to popular belief, marriage is a thing of and for the flesh; it is not holy! If marriage were holy, it would extend beyond the grave but as we know the grave is where it stops. This in itself is sobering and something to seriously consider. Marriage is an agreement between a man and a woman concerning partnership and devotion to each other for the duration of life. This has NOTHING to do with any church or government. It is also a safe and ordained method to vent sexual pressure… which God has imposed upon us. A holy endeavor in marriage would be teaching our children to fear the Lord; nevertheless, it is never a guarantee that they will.
Jaytee Bee
