Christmas?

As I walked through a Bathurst shopping centre yesterday, two things struck me:
A woman was saying to a little boy

He does see everything you do. If you don't behave you won't get that toy on Christmas Day.

Then, I heard two teenagers laughing rather loudly and then saw that they were amused by the things parents do to their children. A little girl was screaming her lungs out, as they tried to coerce her to have her photo taken with Santa.

How different is our gracious God from this myth that we foist on children! We try to manipulate them into being good by threats, then, on Christmas morning, they get the presents anyway.