You know, I’ve been thinking about something lately. Every year, like clockwork, some self-appointed holiness referees show up with their whistle, blowing foul on Christmas. You’ve seen them. Much like the one I shared here. They’re the ones shouting, “Christmas is pagan! December 25th was a pagan holiday! Those lights on your tree? Idolatry! Santa Claus? Satan’s cousin!” It’s like they think Jesus is up in heaven, pacing the floors, going, “Oh no! Not the tree! Not the garland! I had no idea that was from a pagan festival! Thanks for the heads-up, internet theologians!”

Here’s the thing—these people have taken a wrong turn somewhere. They’re trying to save the world by condemning it. Somewhere along the way, they forgot what our actual job is as Christians. And spoiler alert: it’s not to act as morality cops on other believers’ holiday traditions. That’s God’s territory, not ours. We’re called to share the Gospel, to proclaim the good news of salvation through Christ. Period. End of discussion. Romans 10:9-10 lays it out plain: confess Jesus as Lord, believe in your heart, and you’re saved. The rest? That’s between the individual and God. But no, some folks want to dig through everyone’s holiday decorations like spiritual detectives looking for evidence of pagan origins.

Let me ask you something—when Jesus came to earth, did He spend His time nitpicking people’s traditions? Did He form a committee to point out which feast was too Roman, too Greek, or gasp too fun? No! Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He didn’t waste His time judging people for the shape of their menorah or whether their olive oil came from Samaria. He looked at their hearts. And, last I checked, none of us have a scanner that reads hearts like He does.

Listen, the Bible’s pretty clear on this. Romans 14 says it better than I ever could: “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.” Did you catch that? God didn’t ask you to be the sacred-day police. If someone celebrates Christmas to honor Jesus, they’re doing it for the Lord. If someone doesn’t? Guess what—they’re also doing that for the Lord. It’s called freedom in Christ. He bought it for us. Let’s not ruin it by turning it into a spiritual HOA meeting.

And let’s talk about this “Christmas is pagan” argument for a second. Sure, December 25th might have been a pagan holiday at some point. You know what else was pagan? Almost every calendar day in history! Every month of the year has pagan roots. The names of the days of the week? Pagan. Are you gonna stop using Mondays because it’s named after the moon god? Didn’t think so. But here’s what’s beautiful—God specializes in redemption. He takes broken things, pagan things, worldly things, and flips them for His glory. So if someone wants to take December 25th and say, “Today, I’m celebrating the birth of my Savior,” who are we to argue? God doesn’t look at the calendar; He looks at the heart.

Speaking of the heart, remember 1 Samuel 16:7? “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” It doesn’t get clearer than that, folks. God doesn’t care if you have a tree in your living room or a wreath on your door. What He cares about is whether you’ve invited Him into your heart. All the judging, all the finger-pointing? That’s noise. God’s watching your motives, your intentions, and your love for Him—not the size of your Christmas lights display.

And let’s not forget about love. You know, the thing Jesus said we’d be known for? “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Love doesn’t look like posting condescending memes about how other Christians are getting it wrong. Love doesn’t look like nitpicking someone’s traditions to prove a point. Love looks like unity, humility, and encouragement. So before you hit “share” on that rant about pagan holidays, ask yourself: is this building up the body of Christ? Or is it just making you feel superior?

Here’s the bottom line: none of us have been called to be the Holy Spirit’s assistant. God’s not up there wringing His hands over Christmas trees or eggnog. He’s concerned about the hearts of His people, about the lost being found, and about His love being made known. So how about we let Him handle that? How about we stop dividing over stuff that doesn’t matter and start focusing on what does?

Celebrate Christmas. Or don’t. Put up a tree. Or don’t. Just do it for the Lord, and stop worrying about what everyone else is doing. Because at the end of the day, it’s not about the decorations, the date, or the traditions. It’s about Jesus—the God who came to earth, not to condemn us, but to save us. So let’s honor Him, not by fighting over holidays, but by loving one another as He loved us. And maybe, just maybe, let’s stop trying to do God’s job for Him.