Nelson Mandela said, ‘There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way it treats its children.’ This has always been the case.
Many like to view the Christmas story in a saccharine way: a sweet little baby boy who never cried, a beautifully slim Madonna looking glamorous in a stable, angels singing in the heavens and gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The problem we have is that we take elements of the Christmas story and add our own embellishments to them or we ignore other parts of the story because we don’t like them. Herod’s Slaughter of the Innocents (Matt 2:16-18) is a case in point. This massacre of children under 2 is an integral part of the Christmas story, but if we talk about it (as the very funny scene in ‘Nativity’ shows!), people are outraged. Such things offend them and are seen as not being ‘relevant’ to Christmas, when in actual fact, the behaviour of Herod is a vital part of the narrative and demonstrates Satan’s desire to thwart God’s salvation plan at the very start.
How we treat children – whether before they are born or afterwards – is hugely important. Jesus welcomed children (Luke 18:15-17) and urged us to have child-like faith. (Matt 18:3) The sorrow and desperation of exile (when children were eaten in a bid to stay alive, see Jer 19:9, Lam 4:10) is recalled by Matthew as he quotes Jer 31:15, and we do well to ponder on the injustices and desperation in many parts of our world today as we prepare for Christmas.
Our consumerism and materialism are as nothing if we do not treat children with respect and love. Why not use this time to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves? Charities like Samaritan’s Purse with their Christmas shoebox appeal offer practical ways we can support children who have nothing. It’s also good to teach our children to help others and to think of those who are in need. We can never start too young in caring for others.