| Santa | Jesus |
| Santa isn’t real. | Jesus is real. |
| Santa is an old man in a red suit with a herd of flying reindeer. | Jesus is God made flesh. |
| Santa only visits once per year. | Jesus promises to always be there. |
| Santa only gives you earthly, perishable things that don’t last. | Jesus gives you eternal things and earthly things often come with them. |
| You can’t get gifts from Santa if you’ve been a bad boy or girl this year. | Jesus’ gifts aren’t dependent on how many times you’ve stuffed up. |
| Santa cannot fix broken lives, he can only add a bit of sparkle to ‘okay’ lives. | Jesus doesn’t just fix us, he brings us back from the dead. |
| Santa can’t forgive our sins, help us stop sinning or reconcile us to God. | Jesus can, did and does. |
| Santa usually goes away after your parents die. | If Jesus is with you, he will never leave you no matter what happens to your parents. |
| Santa has changed over the years (especially since a certain Coca Cola advert) and will be forgotten about one day. | Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. |
| Santa isn’t relevant to a lot of peoples and cultures in the world. | Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords – and that covers every tribe, tongue and nation. |
| Of those who believe in Santa, Santa mysteriously seems to give more to the kids with rich parents than to the kids with poor parents. | Jesus gives generously to all who trust in him, no matter how much their parents earn. |
Adapted from John Piper’s podcast: Santa Claus: Harmless Fun or Christmas Disruption? (Episode 235) (https://soundcloud.com/askpastorjohn/santa-claus-harmless-fun-or). Some of the stuff on this list is my own or in my own wording, so check out the original!
If clay had lips... 