Halloween: Trick or Treat?

Through my life…

I was raised dressing in costume, going trick-or-treating, having Halloween parties. The belief was that it was to have fun dressing up as something you weren’t and gobble up the goodies. My parents were Christians and had never been taught its deeper meaning so didn’t see anything wrong with it.

I’ve noticed even churches celebrate it, using it as a ministry opportunity to reach those who wouldn’t otherwise come to church.

In years past, I myself would hand out Ten Commandment coins and tracts with treats, using the same logic, and dress up in non-evil costumes to have fun with friends and family.

I’ve even heard Christians say that Halloween, with its costumes and trick-or-treating, is “all a part of growing up”, and a necessary “part of being a kid”…

The persistent questions…

Yet I have had to ask myself and I now ask you, would Jesus take part in a holiday that uses jack-o-lanterns (that commemorate severed heads)? Would He decorate His yard with ghosts, witches, gravestones, skeleton or severed body parts, and the colors of witchcraft (black, orange, purple)? Smear or write with “blood”? Would He hand out treats (that came from the practice of appeasing spirits/demons) to children?

Would He say “Well done good and faithful servant” to anyone who takes part in such a celebration, no matter how “good” we are in our part?…no matter how “good” our costume is, or how many tracts we hand out, or how many “God bless you” and “God loves you” statements we say as we continue the practices of old?

Did Jesus ever use things authored by Satan to reach people for Christ…Himself and His Kingdom?

The answer?…

If we’re honest with ourselves, I’m fairly confident we would all (Christian and non-Christian) have to say…No.

Despite what people want to think, Halloween is based on very non-Christian themes, origins, and content, and to this day is used for an extremely nefarious purpose.

Good Condition…or Rotting Corpse?

Here in Tennessee, I have found that many houses that are falling apart have been covered by new siding, making them look new and in good condition. But does putting new white siding on a rotting corpse of a house actually make the house new and in good condition? or does it just put a coat of white over a still rotten core?

In Summary…

Please pray and be intentional about your choices, especially when setting an example for children. Anything not for God is actually against God. There is no “50 shades of gray”.

I am still learning to be more intentional, to not compromise for the sake of entertainment or to avoid conflict.

I have apologized to my little one for setting an example that I have come to recognize stands in opposition to the teachings of Christ, for teaching her to celebrate a holy-day that is anything but holy. I do not want this to apply to me: “…lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3:4b-5‬ ‭