Years ago my oldest son came to me and asked, "What do we celebrate on Halloween? I know on Christmas we celebrate Jesus being born. And on Easter we celebrate Jesus dying on the cross and coming back to life. But what about Halloween?" I know that everything about the holiday is not evil. But is there anything about it to celebrate? What is worthy of celebration? In all my research of Halloween I can't find one part of it that points to Christ. Sure there are parts of todays traditions that can be linked to Christians, but that doesn't make it a Christian holiday. Even Satan has a history with God. I mean really, they lived together in fellowship before Lucifer was expelled from heaven. But do those roots make him good? And even if we are not purposefully bringing glory to Satan, do you think he minds the recognition? Research it for yourself. I've heard some people say it started as a Christian holiday. But everything I've found on secular and nonsecular sites has said it originated as a time for contacting the dead, appeasing evil spirits, and practicing witchcraft. Sure some Christians tried to adapt it to fit their religion. Christians used to dress up as Bible story characters and put on plays for people in return for food and drink. But that was a year round practice until they moved it to Halloween. And did that work? Is it a Christian holiday now? Does it point to Christ today?
Here are some verses we have applied to the topic of Halloween in our home. Read them. Pray over them. And then do what you feel is right. Don't just disregard them because you're so sure Halloween is harmless. Maybe it is harmless, but is it good? And if it's not God's best for you, isn't that harmful?
- Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.(Phil. 4:8 NIV)
- Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! (Phil. 4:4-5 The Message)
- Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from among unbelievers,and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.(2 Cor. 6:14-17 NLT)
- Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he? “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive. (1 Cor. 10:18-23 NIV)
- So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Cor. 10:31NIV)
- So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy. (1 Peter 1:14-16 NLT)
Now then, can we observe Halloween even if we find nothing in it to celebrate? I'm not going to answer that. God put us here to win souls, to reach others for Him. Can we do that if we shut our doors to the world? Or can we do that if we are no different than the world? I firmly believe that there has to be a balance, but each of us must decide what that balance is.
When Jesus was on this earth He sat down and ate with sinners. He was looked down upon by "believers" for fellowshipping with sinners. But Jesus spent time with them to show them forgiveness and salvation. He didn't hide from the world. But He also didn't sin with them. I'm NOT saying that trick-or-treating is sin. But I do weigh what we choose to do with the "What Would Jesus Do?" test. I know! You are all saying, "I can't believe she said W.W.J.D!" But if we want to be like Christ shouldn't we consider what He would do in our shoes? And if we are doing something we know He wouldn't maybe we need to reconsider what is right and wrong! I can envision Jesus walking around with the trick-or-treaters this week. I can even picture him holding the hand of a little Super Man or Witch while they hold out their little pumpkin basket for candy. But I cannot picture Him painting His holy face to look like a zombie or goblin! After the blood that pored down His face while He was saving us from our sins, do you think He would find it amusing to paint His face to look like that again? Or after all the pain He has seen His children go through do you think He can find pleasure in the horror masks and scary costumes? I know He doesn't find joy in that! He can't! He is HOLY! And those things are not!
Some people argue that Halloween is all pretend, but it is NOT! I'm not just talking about the history of Halloween. I'm talking about Halloween today. It is a celebration of death, horror, and fear. All the decorations prove that. Even Jack-O-Lanterns are said to have been carved as offerings to appease the spirits. Ephesians 6:12 tells us "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Spirits are real. Death is real. Pain is real. Darkness is real. But Jesus is Life. Jesus is Love. Jesus is the Light. So can we say we love Christ and still celebrate those things which are the opposite of Him?
Now I am not for a second wanting to make it look like we're perfect in this house. We are NOT! We know all these verses. We believe that God wants us to be holy just like He is holy. But we fail! We fail every day! I watch things I shouldn't on TV. If I apply all those verses to what comes on my TV many shows will have to go. In fact just this week I went to turn on a murder mystery show I usually watch and felt physically ill. I had always seen it as "not that bad". They seek justice and punish the offender, right? But the time I spend watching the show, dwelling on sin and pain does not help me become holy. So, I pray that God will continue to work on my heart and "take away all that remains for the glory of Your [His] name!"
So, now I'll bring this all back in around parenting. We teach our kids these verses. We want them to follow God's Word and apply their memory verses to their lives. But what will you do when they come to you with a question about why you do what you do? Will you tell them that God's Word only applies to important things? Will you tell them that when it says "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." it doesn't mean things like trick-or-treating or movies? My goal is that everything I do brings glory to God. I want to cook for His glory, shop for His glory, eat for His glory, parent for His glory, clean for His glory...EVERYTHING I do for God! And if something doesn't fit, then it has to go!
