IF I was the devil, I would try and make Christmas as implausible as possible.

I would associate it with a fat man dressed in red with a white beard pulled along on a sleigh by flying reindeer.

Then perhaps people would forget about the birth in a Bethlehem stable of a baby whose life and death would have a deeper impact on the world than anyone else who has ever lived.

If I was the devil, I would try and make Christmas as busy as possible.

I would pile on the pressure for families to spend more than they can afford. I would fill it with activities and encourage that feeling of desperation as presents remain unwrapped, cards still need to be sent, and there's no room for the turkey in the fridge.

I would also ensure that mistletoe was totally unobtainable. Then perhaps there would be no time for families to spend time with those they love, no space for reflection, no opportunity to remember those dearest to us.

If I was the devil, I would try and make Christmas as escapist as possible.

I would fill the television schedules with unmissable specials, and the drinks cupboard with Tia Maria. I would say that Christmas is all about children.

I would wrap people up in cosy sentimentality. This would prevent them from dropping in on that neighbour who is all alone, or recalling Jesus starting life as a refugee and ended it on a cross.

If I was the devil, I would make Christmas as complicated as possible, a logistical nightmare.

I would fill it with demanding children, awkward in-laws, burnt mince pies and faulty gifts.

I would get people queuing for Boxing Day sales before they have digested their turkey.

This should remove all traces of the simple truth told by the angels to the shepherd, that "to you is born this day in the city of David a saviour who is Christ the Lord".

If I was the devil, I would dread a Christmas Eve in which families laughed together, friends attended midnight services, strangers wished each other a merry Christmas, and people wondered afresh at the humility of a God who stooped to enter our humanity to offer new life and hope in a troubled world.

Of course, if I was the devil, the editor would not have asked me to write this column.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Nick McKinnel

Bishop of Crediton