“…we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:10

“I think over here might be a good place to hide it,” I said. Katie said, “Eh.. they’ll find it in less than a second! They always do!” What we were talking about was the moving of the Elf on a Shelf in her classroom at school. We had stopped by in the evening so it would be moved for the morning. I was getting sucked in! As creativity flowed, ‘Truth’ kind of slipped out the window!

The Elf on a Shelf is a product from 2005 that has taken a permanent spot at Christmas. Written as a book, a ‘Scout Elf’ is sent to homes with children to watch behavior. Every Night the elf fly’s back to the North Pole to update Santa’s ‘Naughty or Nice’ list based on it’s findings. Upon return to the home, it takes a different location. Finding the Elf each morning is exciting and fun for children.

Having not been the Elf on the Shelf mover, I’d only HEARD stories as Katie came home and shared fun details about the kids and ‘The Elf.’ The Elf idea reminds kids that their behavior is being monitored during the Christmas Season. Kids are STRONGLY encouraged to BE GOOD so they will get presents! I laugh because Christianity has the same kind of silly tricks to get people to behave!

There are LOTS of articles that claim ‘The Elf’ is nothing more than a form of behavior control and can damage children’s psyche if misused. I can see how the threat of abuse from a controlling, insensitive parent might scar or distort reality for a child. If that is true, then ‘religion’ in the wrong hands can do even MORE damage to someone who doesn’t fully know the Grace of God.

There are lots of ideas out there that act like snitching Elves to God. Lines like, “You’d better repent, confess, and ask God for forgiveness, sin separates you from God, you could lose your salvation,” can easily damage a believer’s faith, as being ‘good or bad,’ becomes the measure of how much God really loves and approves of me. It takes a LOT of effort to overcome conscience.

Satan LOVES to mess with believers. And why not? He already HAS the unbelievers. If he can distort scripture and make a believer feel guilty enough to stop them from sharing the Good News of Christ, in his mind, he can win. So he lays it on thick with guilt and remorse! Then, adding elfish lies, I can make myself FEEL unworthy of ANYTHING good from God. That method WORKS!

Today’s Bible verse is just 1 of MANY that talk about Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on my behalf. It is clear. Jesus died once… FOR ALL! All people and all sin! PERIOD! But satan doesn’t want us to believe that truth. He wants to keep believers focused on SIN instead of the Savior! The Truth is, I don’t get to heaven by ‘being good,’ I get there by receiving His free Gift of Grace, which makes me HIS!

The Joy of Christmas, understood through to the purpose of Easter, shows me how much God loves and wants me. Faith comes by receiving His free gift of Grace through the Holy Spirit, not my behavior. In God’s opinion, He has no BAD KIDS, even though I will NEVER act perfect on this Earth. I have discovered that playing hide and seek for God’s approval is a waste of time! I’m already in!

Are YOU playing games with God’s grace? Do YOU allow guilt and remorse to drive you further from Christ because you haven’t met some perfect standard? Cheer up lil sheep! God has no reporting elves and doesn’t even keep lists of bad behavior!       Got Jesus?