Rethinking naughty and nice

When sipping egg nog and conjuring up childhood Christmas memories this time of year, our minds may eventually drift to Santa’s mysterious omniscience, demonstrated most fearfully in that perennial “naughty and nice� list of his that made all of us shudder at least a little bit at one time or another as kids. He knew what we deserved and he’d reward us accordingly: fun toys for the nice, lumps of coal for the naughty.

Fortunately, this has nothing to do with Christmas, as Jesus’ modus operandi with us has always been grace. Nonetheless, one faith-based group is fighting to keep the list around in an effort to “save Christmas.� The Liberty Counsel, “a nonprofit litigation, education and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and the family,� has picked up Santa’s flak for the eighth year in a row by releasing its updated “Naughty and Nice� list as part of its “Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign.�

Growing up, I always had a hunch that Santa’s naughty and nice lists had to do with whether I was pulling my sister’s hair too often or talking back at my parents or accusing the kid next door of some mischief I’d gotten myself into. It never occurred to me that Santa would take issue with me for not referring to the month of December in religious terms. But that’s precisely the criteria this new list employs.

In effect, the campaign urges consumers to only shop at stores that refer to this holiday season using Christian language. It’s simple: generic references to “holidays� make one naughty; specific references to “Christmas� make one nice. Further, we’re encouraged to tattle on the proverbial neighbor kids who acknowledge the demographic and religious plurality of the country. Our tattling, Lord willing, will shame them into capitulating to our fervent religious whims. The campaign has reportedly been a tremendous success, and just this year Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods have joined the ranks of those convinced to use Christmas terminology in their marketing strategies. LC cites this as indisputable progress in “saving Christmas.�

As a Christian, I celebrate Christmas. I call it what it is, and I enjoy its festivities immensely. For me, it’s the richest time of the year. I’m thankful that I have the freedom to celebrate it however I like and I enjoy the added bonus of being surrounded by many who celebrate it as well.

So, why the fuss? Well, call me Scrooge, but I’m convinced that the “Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign� is a distraction at best, and destructive at worst.

It is a distraction in that the real threat to Christmas is not that secular entities and non-Christian individuals prefer to use other, more inclusive terms for a season that does in fact include various holidays (Christian and otherwise), but that Christians have often and in many ways failed to embody the true meaning and the message of the season. Christians throughout history have marked the season of Advent -- the four weeks leading up to Christmas -- as a time of anticipation for the coming of the King who was born in a barn as a Jew in an occupied country, who became a refugee as a toddler a short time later and would go on to offer salvation to anyone poor enough to accept it freely. To suggest that his agenda was to make sure Wal-Mart included “Christ� in neon letters on Black Friday would be laughable if it weren’t so tragic. As it is, it’s a distraction from what Christians are to be celebrating -- and inviting others to experience -- this time of year.

Beyond being a distraction, though, the campaign is destructive to the extent that it serves to further cement us in cycles of consumerism, which leads to all sorts of injustice. If Christians are to insist on a “naughty and nice� list, would it not follow that the list would take into consideration whether retailers support slavery, oppression and unjust wages or offer men and women the opportunity to work with dignity? Whether retailers’ profits rely on the destruction of the lives, communities and ecosystems of those already on the margins of society, or whether their business practices demonstrate a commitment to sacrifice some profits now and then if that’s what it takes to truly make the world a more just place where children can grow up healthy and strong?

Long before the virgin birth and the manger and the swaddling clothes -- and before the one-horse open sleigh dashing through the snow, for that matter -- the prophet Isaiah warned the people of God that religious festivals devoid of justice were unbearable to God. God was turning away, covering his eyes. In fact, Isaiah said, God hated these well-intentioned religious celebrations with the totality of his being. Why? Not because of anything those outside the community of faith were doing or because the faithful weren’t properly festive, but because those identifying themselves as the people of God had blood on their hands. I shudder to think, in light of today’s ominous headlines in our ever-connected world, of all the ways in which that warning still applies.

The good news then and the good news now is that it doesn’t have to be this way. God enables and invites us to change:

Stop doing wrong, learn to do right!

Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.

Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

“Come now, let us reason together,� says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.�

For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

In other words, there is a “naughty and nice� list after all. The criteria are clear, though, and it’s not too late. There’s still time to keep Christ in Christmas.