Do Holy Days Or Holidays Please God?

Santa, An Inflated Ornament For An Inflated Holiday

What in the world are the creators of this blow-up ornament trying to communicate about the Christmas Holy Day?

1 Corinthians 10:31-33

"Whether, then, you eat or drink or what-

ever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Give no offense either to Jews or to

Greeks or to the church of God;

just as I also please all men in all

things, not seeking my own

profit but the profit of the

many, so that they

may be saved."

Do Holy Days Or Holidays Please God From 1 Corinthians 10

A Holy Day is a day set aside to worship God. The Christian is to worship God every day, as every one of our days belongs to Him who gave us life, and we live for His pleasure. A holiday is set aside for celebration, rest, or recreation.

1 Corinthians 10 has the answer to the above question, not me. Understanding worship correctly is key to chapter 10. Paul began by saying that Israel was baptized in the sea and they drank from the rock, which was Christ, and then quickly moved on to seeing their sins as examples to us and that we should understand there is always a way of escape, but we must not assume victory, but know that God is faithful. We must use the method necessary to defeat the sin according to God's instructions, and his first example is that we flee idolatry.

Paul no sooner explained sinning in the wilderness than he turns our attention to our not partaking in worship with unbelievers because, as he says, "Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? 19 What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons." (18-20)

Do We Celebrate Holy Days Or Holidays For Ourselves Or For Others?

We will let Paul be our guide. "23 All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify [build-up]. 24 Let no one seek his own [good], but that of his neighbor. 25 Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience' sake; 26 FOR THE EARTH IS THE LORD'S, AND ALL IT CONTAINS. 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience' sake. 28 But if anyone says to you, "This is meat sacrificed to idols," do not eat [it], for the sake of the one who informed [you], and for conscience' sake; 29 I mean not your own conscience, but the other [man's]; "...Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; 33 just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the [profit] of the many, so that they may be saved." (23-29; 32-33)

Do We Celebrate Holy Days/Holidays Unto God Or Demons?

"Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? 19 What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 [No], but [I say] that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord -and the table of demons. 22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?" (18-22)

Paul's arguments may seem ambiguous and confusing, but that is when it is time to stop and pray, which should be done first, during, and after. However, Paul does say there are no idols; in reality, they are only the figment of a man's imagination. Because believers know the One true God, we then realize that idols are nothing. We are at liberty to eat meat sacrificed to that which is nothing. At the same time, if eating defiles someone's conscience, we should not become a stumbling block to them by our eating. At the same time, Gentiles sacrifice to demons, and a believer should never be a partaker in worshipping demons.

Paul is not being ambiguous. We must know that in matters of conscience, we must think of others for their souls' sake. In matters of worship, we must consider God and whether we are pleasing Him or denying Him for demons.

My dear readers, if you approach the question, do Holy Days or Holidays please God with anything other than serious contemplation, you have your answer in the condition of your own heart. Let us be sober and take every day seriously, whether it is a workday, a Holy Day, or a celebration. Our relationship to God, our creator and redeemer, always matters most. Others should come before ourselves, and we should consider our actions and beliefs to be vitally important, never treating life as if it were a game. The eternal destiny of souls should never be viewed in any context as a game! Whether the holiday is Halloween, which was Celtic in origin and crossed the lines of interacting with demons at the time of harvest, and later was changed into All Saints' Day by the Roman Catholic Church, but today the world makes it all about the dead again, because that is where the world wants to go. Then there is Thanksgiving. We should focus on giving thanks not on gorging ourselves on food and football but thinking we are giving thanks. Christmas is the birth of the Son of God, who gave the greatest gift anyone could ever receive. Yet receiving presents from one another far outweighs the value of eternal life for many on Christmas Day. Finally, we have Easter or the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as the proof of His Righteousness and victory over death, which is surpassed by our concentrating on an egg hunt. My Dear reader, ask yourself when we come to celebrate these days, do we spend sufficient time in prayer, focusing on the One person who deserves our devotion and worship or are just as worldly as the world?