The debate among Christians over Halloween seems especially
intense this year. Some stand firm
believing that to go trick or treating is to teach your children to worship
Satan, and others stand firmly stating that there’s no harm in a little costume
and candy. And, even though I am
completely certain you don’t need another opinion on the subject, I’m about to
give you mine!
Here’s my thought. There are some things in Christendom that
must be adhered to by the whole group of us, the Church. For instance, Jesus is
the only way to peace with God, Jesus is God, Jesus was born of a virgin, Jesus
lived a sinless life, Jesus rose from the dead, etc. And if you notice a theme here, Jesus is at
the root of it all. He is the deal
breaking issue. You can’t get Him
wrong. Jesus matters. However, there are
other things that we, as believers, can differ on (for instance, sprinkling or
immersion for baptism). I hold to one
view, but if you hold to the other, we can still be brothers/sisters in Christ.
In the same way, I think peace can be found in the topic of Halloween. There have been times in my life that God was
convicting me, personally, about something specific…something that He wasn’t
necessarily telling some one else. There
was a lady in my Bible study class one time who said that God was showing her she
needed to stop coloring her hair. My
response? Well, ok! And I was thinking, “You do that, and I’ll
still be highlighting my grays away!” Why? Because God didn’t show me to stop getting
hair color…He showed that to her. Maybe
for her, continuing to color her hair would end up a stumbling block toward
vanity. I sure don’t know. But God does.
And as His kid, I know He’ll be the one to specifically reveal sin to my
own heart as I need it, which is daily because I’m just a flawed sinner saved
by His grace!
And in the same way, I think that God lays things on our
hearts as parents that He desires we implement into the lives of our kids. I believe that He is the One enabling us to
train up our children in the way that each of them should go. Sure, there is wisdom in a multitude of
counselors, but we better be careful who our counselors are. I don’t need a counselor who will only tell
me their personal opinion about an issue, say Halloween, for instance. I need a counselor to point me to the Word,
showing me what God has to say about the matter. I think we need to let our brothers and
sisters off the hook regardless of the hill they choose to stand on when it
comes to the great Halloween debate.
So, here’s the Word for ya.
1 Corinthians 10:23 says, “All things are lawful, but not all things are
profitable. All things are lawful, but
not all things edify.” So, here’s the
deal from where I sit…we need to back up off each other. It’s lawful to trick or treat. It’s also lawful to skip it. It’s lawful to give out candy and share the
gospel with each little goblin on your doorstep (or not). It’s also lawful to share the gospel at each
door you stand on waiting for your treat (or not). Here’s what’s not ok: It’s not ok to get in each other’s faces, judging
a decision that God has led them to make for the good of THEIR family. I know we know it, but it’s so hard not to
force something that God has laid on our hearts on someone else, as if God is
telling them to do the same thing! I
think Christians sometimes have a hard time with this. We are, most likely, just trying to encourage
someone to a godly life. And yet, what
we are actually doing is trying to play the part of God, calling others to the
life God has called US to.
So, what should you do about Halloween? I sure don’t know. Pray about it. God will show you what to do for your
family. But here are some tips for a
happy, peaceful Halloween:
1) Pray about it.
You can’t get God’s heart on the matter unless you’re listening to what
He’s saying to you. So, go and listen…with
a willing heart.
2) Consider that even if it’s lawful, it still
might not be best. Remember our verse
says, that even though things are lawful, not all things are profitable and not
all things edify. That means that
everything isn’t going to be best for you and your family, even if it isn’t
sin. But this is something, at the risk of sounding repetitive, you’ll need to
go to God about!
3) Don’t flip out over somebody else’s decision for
their family…even if it’s your best friend.
You’re not the mother in her home and she’s not the mother in
yours. God gave YOU your babies and HER
her babies, and they won’t be raised exactly the same. It is OK if you do this differently. It really shouldn’t be a deal breaker for
your friendship.
And on the other side of that coin, don’t
take it too personally if someone hasn’t read this blog and they still
criticize your decision for your family.
Just let it go. It’s really gonna
be ok.
4) Some people will make a choice this year that is
different from last year. And that’s ok!
Feel free to even make this decision on a yearly basis. Kids grow and change
and that will play a part in the decision making process for each family. Try not to set up expectations for your
friends on this each year (and re-read this at Christmas, because I think it’ll
still apply).
5) Christians “celebrating” Halloween should look
different than the world celebrating Halloween.
We are in the world, but are not of it.
So, let’s remember as we choose costumes and our home’s outside
decorations, that the world is watching us…and we really should look different.
6) Use Halloween as an opportunity to teach and
point your kids to Christ. This is
really the most important tip. We’ve got
to use every opportunity to share Jesus with our kids because the world is so
great at telling them everything else!
Those are just the tips that popped out off the top of my
head! I’m sure there are others! And now, because I feel like I owe it to you
after bringing all this up, here are our plans for the night: My kids are dressing up, we’re going to enjoy
a family dinner, we’re buying the kids a bag of candy, and then we’re taking
our kids to Disney on Ice (which I realize is a whole other topic for
Christians to debate). We have reasons
for not trick or treating, one being the fact that my kids find no humor AT ALL
in being scared…but who knows what next year will hold. What I know is that today, this is what God
has led us to do. Enjoy today, doing
what God is leading you to do! Happy
Halloween!
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