We are less than a week away from celebrating the grand celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

As adults we would hope that the celebration of his birth is uppermost in our hearts, but it still is fun and magical to see the joy twinkling in the eyes of our children as they wait with excitement for the arrival of Santa Claus.

The special joy a parent and a grandparent feels as little ones wake on Christmas day and rush to the decorated tree to enjoy the gifts bestowed upon them is almost indescribable.

That is why we cannot understand people like Brian Evan Morgan who prey upon and degrade not only our children, but in some cases their own.

Morgan, who was a custodian for the Newton County School System at Mansfield Elementary School, was arrested this past week for exchanging and soliciting child porn on the Internet.

We certainly don't profess to know God's heart, and we are taught that all things can be forgiven, but to hurt or denigrate a child in any way must certainly bring tears to God's eyes as it does to ours.

We applaud the sheriff's department for discovering the actions of this pervert and we praise the school authorities for their swift action in removing this man from our children's presence.

As parents we have to be vigilant for our children and listen to what they tell us. If you have any just suspicions about anyone who deals with your child, call the local law authorities.