Every year there is a buzz around this time. What should believers do?
- Should they allow their kids to “trick or treat?”
- Should they watch a Jesus film to try to counter the satanic influences of the day?
- Maybe we should go all out and hold mean signs in our front yards so all the little kids in our neighborhood can know just how much we hate Halloween!
I have an idea: Let’s all take a really big chill-pill. Relax. Grab a beverage. Eat a candy bar. That is the conclusion I have reached.
Some families will dress up and go trick or treating. Cool. Some families will do their own parties. Cool. Some families will do nothing. Cool. In other words, I am happy to live in Romans 14:23 and let others do the same.
Here are the three reasons I think Rom 14:23 should govern our activities:
- Jesus reigns – Everyday. People might dress up as ghouls, goblins, witches, ghosts, or little devils but my Jesus still reigns. Everything was made for him, including October 31.
- Most people neither know nor care about its historical roots. This reminds me of the Christmas tree debates. Some people think the history of the tree was not good so we should not use them. I realize that I am only 40 years old, but never once in my life has an unbeliever said to me “Rob, you have a tree, I thought you were a Christian?” People simply do not care about the roots. Halloween is not much different – a child trick or treating, or a family handing out candy does not conjure up thoughts of “satanic worshiper” in the minds of most.
- Scripture gives liberty on a lot of issues. I think this is one of them. Of course, it might be that a particular family should exercise caution due to some personal history. But that is true about a lot of things – not just Halloween. If Scripture gives liberty, then so should we.
So, here is my advice:
- If you go trick or treating – eat the candy to the glory of God.
- If you have a little family party – enjoy it to the glory of God.
- If you do absolutely nothing – do absolutely nothing to the glory of God.
Happy Halloween. Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. His heal was bruised, but he CRUSHED the serpent’s head. Praise the Lord, my Jesus reigns!
By the way…In case you’re curious: We have a family party every year. Since tonight is counseling night we had the party last night. We had a series of clues that had us travelling on State Road 26 in Lafayette to buy drinks at Burger King, sandwiches at Arby’s, fries at McDonalds, and cider and donuts at Meijer. We also had various games at our house, and handfuls of candy at every turn. Since the wind was pretty strong, s’mores had to wait until tomorrow night. It was a blast and may Jesus Christ be praised!
