Did you know that today December the 6th is St. Nicholas Day? St. Nicholas has always been someone in history I admire.
He was a great example of a godly man who put others before himself. He was born to wealthy parents who also looked out for the needy. While his parents cared for the sick, they became ill themselves and died. Nicholas then inherited all their wealth. Instead of spending his wealth on himself, he used it to help the needy.
St. Nicholas became the Bishop of Myra at the young age of 30 and became known for his kindness and charity. He was a true example of being the hands and feet of Jesus. Unfortunately, magical Santa Claus has replaced St. Nicholas. Remembering his life and teaching our children could be beneficial to turn the glory back to God and away from the magical Santa. Today we will look at three biblical lessons that his life teaches us.
Love God
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. (Matthew 22:37-38) St. Nicholas loved God. We can see his love by how he fought passionately for the trinity to be recognized by the church. He attended the First Council of Nicaea and passionately fought for the recognition of Jesus as being one with God.
St. Nicholas is one of the bishops that signed the Nicaea Creed, which recognized the equal nature of the trinity. A legend says that he was so passionate about Jesus being the Son of God that he slapped Arius for denying the deity of Christ and was imprisoned. The accuracy of this, however, is not known.
However, He was placed in prison by the Roman emperor Diocletian during the persecution of Christians. He suffered torture because of his love for Jesus.
Love People
And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:39)
St Nicholas loved people. Many stories tell of his generosity and compassion for others. One story tells how a poor father planned on selling his daughters into slavery but, when St. Nicholas heard about their plight, he stepped in by throwing a bag of gold through their window three nights in a row. Therefore, saving them from prostitution and slavery.
Another story tells how he stepped in to save three innocent men from execution by taking the sword from the executioner and demanding that the men be set free. Since He had authority, the executioner listened, and the ruler begged for forgiveness.
St. Nicholas was a man who was for the people. He helped the poor and needy, stood up for the innocent, and helped the helpless. He also allowed God to work through him in mighty ways: through healings and financial miracles.
He Did Many Acts in Private
Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 6:1)
In the story of the three poor girls, St. Nicholas did not walk up to the front door and hand them the gold, but instead, he chose to do it at night so that no one knew who had given it. In a world where almost everything ends up on social media, we can be prone to show everyone our good deeds under the disguise of encouraging kindness, this is not biblical. Matthew 6:3 tells us: But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
We should be helping people and showing love every day without telling the world about it. Privately giving takes the focus off us and gives the glory to God. The love of God in us is what urges us to choose to do good. There is no good in us except Christ in us (Romans 7:18); therefore, every good deed comes from the love of God. He deserves the thanks and the praise.
St. Nicholas Overshadowed by Santa Claus
Once people started passing down stories about St. Nicholas and his deeds, they began to blow his legacy out of proportion, and the focus turned to the man himself and not the God he served. Now we celebrate a magical man who grants the wishes of children just for being good; when we should be re-telling the stories of a man who loved God and dedicated his life to serving Him and the people of his community. To celebrate Saint Nicholas Day, let us honor this godly man by donating to a needy family or perhaps an organization that helps children.
If that is not something you can do, take the time today to re-tell his story so that God can regain the glory lost by the entrance of a magical man on a sleigh pulled by reindeer.
Resources: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Nicholas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas
https://wau.org/resources/article/meet_st_nicholas_the_wonder_worker/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea
Referenced Verses: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+22%3A37-39&version=NIV
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A1-3&version=NIV
Leah says
I so appreciate this. Was not familiar with this story.
carrie says
I wasn’t either until a few years ago! His legacy truly has been hidden under Santa Claus. Glad enjoyed it!
Jean says
That’s a good trivia didnt know that St Nicholas’ is celebrated Dec 6
carrie says
I didn’t either until the last few years! Learned a lot about him!
Chanel says
Really detailed post, lots I hadn’t even realised, thank you 🙂
carrie says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Keith White says
Great blog I love history of early Church along with the attitude of Love for our Lord.
carrie says
Glad you enjoyed it! I also love history so I enjoyed doing the research for this one!