No doubt the pastor thought he was taking a stand for righteousness. He hadn’t been allowed a full-fledged book burning, so he had to settle for renting a conference room at a Ramada Inn. There, with great zeal in front of a number of his parishners, he literally sliced and diced some Harry Potter books. The release of the second Harry Potter movie and its huge following had inspired this pastor to make his stand. Somewhat reminiscent of Carrie Nation taking an axe to a saloon back in the good ol’ temperance movement days. Whack, whack! That will show the devil we mean business!

And we Christians wonder why our culture has a hard time taking anything we say or do seriously. If that kind of action is supposed to be salt and light, the world need have no fear of experiencing sharp tastes or having to squint their eyes when we’re around.

When I read the article about this misguided and misguiding brother, I couldn’t help but wonder, “Where do the folks in that church send their kids to school?” Certainly that’s partly due to the fact that I live, breathe, and eat Logos, but it’s still a legitimate question. If such zeal is generated from the potential influence of a book series and a movie (ok, a long movie), how much more zeal must those folks have for how their children are educated five days a week, nine months a year, for thirteen years, or so! Is their zeal for righteousness exhibited consistently and proportionately in the kind of schooling their children receive? I don’t know and my cynical nature leads me to think while their children are banned from J.K. Rawlings, they are dipped to the eyeballs in John Dewey, all in the name of being salt and light.

We Christians frequently have a profound similarity to those Pharisees whom Jesus accused of “straining at gnats and swallowing camels.” We major on the minors and minor on the majors. Such is the imbalance that comes when we lose sight of grace and try to do religious works that have the appearance of godliness.

At this time of year another form of this foamy thinking manifests itself. Much in the same way the secularists abhor the talk, sight, or sound of Christ particularly at Christmas time, we Christians, especially in Christian schools, frequently vilify Santa Claus, as though he were the Saddam Hussein of celebrating Christmas. Sadly, many Christian high school grads don’t know the biblical reasons why Karl Marx’s ideas were so evil or how to logically refute the claims of Darwinism, but they sure know that Santa is anathema. And that often goes for almost anything else that has to do with fantasy and the realm of imagination. Both the secularists and these brothers share a similarity to Scrooge and the Grinch when it comes to truly celebrating our Lord’s advent.

Jesus Christ, in words and actions, showed us who the real “bad guys” are: they aren’t the prostitutes, tax collectors, fantasy writers, or mythical figures. They aren’t even the political tyrants (Jesus certainly knew what the emperor was up to). No, He took off the gloves when it came to thumping the religious hypocrites, the priests (pastors) who were misusing their role as God-appointed shepherds of His people. He gave what-for to the lawyers and teachers who were lying to and cheating the people who trusted their counsel. Who are those people today? I mentioned a few above, you can probably fill in the blanks otherwise.

As we reflect (which Christmas should always cause us to do) on the incredible fact of Immanuel, may more Christians see our culture, their children, and their churches, the way Christ would have us see. May we know where the battle for righteousness really takes place and be more effective warriors there, not somewhere else. May we identify the real “bad guys” who would seduce us, lie to us, and rob us of our legacy - our children and their faith.

Have a blessed and uplifting Christmas celebration - read lots of great books, sing great songs, eat a lot of great food and worship our great God!