I’m really not trying to be a Scrooge.

My last two articles were Christmas-related, and the second of those was about a pet peeve that’s no big deal: inaccurate nativity scenes. This one is also about a Christmas tradition that I find fault with, but this time, the implications can be far more serious than what kind of building Jesus was born in.

See also: Why I changed my mind and celebrate Christmas

The Christmas season sees ubiquitous displays of the phrase “Peace on earth, goodwill to men,” often shortened to just “Peace on earth.” Bumper stickers, coffee mugs, memes, and Christmas cards. The exact wording can be traced to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “Christmas Bells,” written during the Civil War, and its musical adaptation, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” But of course, its original source is the cry of the heavenly host who announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds in Luke 2:14, which we’ll examine in a little bit.

The way it’s used today, standing alone, the phrase is a wish for peace among men; an end to wars and conflict. It exhorts us to show goodwill toward each other. But as with so many other fragments of Scripture, standing alone is the problem.

The popular phrase is closest to the rendering of the King James Version: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” But even the slight discrepancy in the wording conveys a different meaning; rather than peace and goodwill between men, it proclaims peace and goodwill toward men — from God, who’s being glorified.

This is extremely important because this is why Jesus was born. Apart from Christ, all people are separated from God by their sins (Isaiah 59:2) and are His enemies (Romans 8:7). But in His great love, God sent His Son into the world (John 3:16) so that through His death and resurrection, sinners can be forgiven and reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:19, Colossians 1:20). This is what the angels were talking about. This is the good tidings of great joy.

When we extract their words from their context and tweak the order, God is left out of it. That robs the phrase of the good news the angels are proclaiming. It guts the gospel. That’s why this is no trivial matter; people’s eternities are at stake.     

Also, the verse in question is a textual variant, meaning it’s worded slightly differently among ancient manuscripts. Here are some translations in Bible versions that come from different Greek texts than the KJV:

• “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!” (Christian Standard Bible)

• “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (English Standard Version)

• “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth among those whom he has favored!” (Mounce Interlinear)

• “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (New International Version)

As you can see, in any version, the doxology emphasizes the favor of God, and that is the basis for the peace He makes with sinners. The good news is God’s unilateral, unmerited grace and mercy, drawing us into relationship with Him through the One who was born that night.

While there’s nothing wrong with wishing for general peace in the world and exhorting each other to show goodwill to all, we should contend for the gospel (Jude 3) by expounding on the popular phrase and proclaiming what the angels said in its fullness — God sent a Savior into the world to reconcile us sinners to Him.

Also remember that Christ said He came not to bring peace but division (Luke 12:51), making believers holy and sanctified — spiritually and in some ways practically set apart from the unbelieving world. He said the world would hate us as it hates Him (John 15:18-19).

As long as there are unrepentant sinners in the world, there will be enmity between them and God, and therefore them and us. Our hope is not to end all conflict ourselves, but to preach the only way of reconciliation with Him, and wait for the glorious day when He returns to finally bring peace on earth.