Halloween...

In an effort to have a "gentle and quiet spirit" (1 Peter 3:4), I will, as always, try to be gentle with my words. I don't know how to begin other than Halloween and all that surrounds it has been weighing on me lately. Polls asking if you'll dress scary or sexy make me cringe a bit, and seeing the skin-tight cat outfits for 6 year olds makes me ache inside with grief for our people. As you can tell, I'm not big on Halloween. My parents were really good with it. They gave or made for us appropriate costumes that weren't immodest (I recall a kindergarten costume of me as a Care Bear being one of many of my mom's sewing victories). They kept us in safe neighborhoods, and never let us travel alone. For my brother and I who are diabetic, they even created "the good witch" who we traded our candy to for a toy. But the one thing I don't remember them addressing, the thing that truthfully keeps me from wanting to start it with Judah, is the history of the holiday and the sin of greed it causes. I'm not saying that my opinion is THE opinion. I think every decision made by a parent, whether its small like this or big like education, should be tempered with prayer, wisdom on the topic, God's word on the topic, and a follow-through plan. This is just some food for thought.

All-Hallows-Eve (Old English for the evening of souls or spirits) can be traced all the way back to Roman times, connected to both the feast of Pomona (an fruit/seed goddess who they held a festival celebrating the end of summer for) as well as Parentalia (festival of the dead). Now, this is Wikipedia info. I need to run by the library to get better and probably more accurate information. But if you think of how our society celebrates it, then celebrating it as the festival of the dead sounds about right. My warning against this, to those who do celebrate it as a day of the dead is that the dead can do nothing for you:

"The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who go down into silence." - Psalm 115:17

"And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done."- Revelations 20:13

The dead wait. They cannot speak to us. They are either outside of Christ and are in eternal torment where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:36-43); or they are with God and are in eternal glory. If that, the dead cannot intercede for us either because Christ is interceding for them (1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 7:25). Another way this is taken is using the dead as a scare tactic (i.e. vampires, zombies, etc.). It seems harmless right? God instructs us many times in the scriptures on what to dwell on, but these 2 stick out to me in this topic:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.- Philippians 4:8-9

Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.- Ecclesiates 10:1

So one night of folly (i.e. dress provocatively (I've known young women who dressed in black lingerie, put on a top hat, carried a stuffed bunny, and called themselves a magician), drinking heavily, etc. etc.) outweighs wisdom and honor you put forth. And watching scary movies that Satan uses to keep you up at night doesn't count at commendable, honorable, just, or pure. By watching movies like "Halloween" or "Scream" you are playing into media and deeming it acceptable to watch murder (even if it is fake). By watching movies like "Carrie" you're playing into witchcraft, sorcery, necromancers (sorcery as well). "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" (which I watched before I came to Christ and still have nightmares from) opens up your mind to demon possession and making it seem like God is helpless against powerful demons when He is our Sovereign Creator. Think on these things before you pop in a scary movie just because society says its that time of year.

So, that said. What about children? What about costumes? What if you, like my parents, found suitable costumes that aren't going to give your 5 year old a chest and bare midriff (seriously, Disney, Jasmine needs a better designer)? Going door-to-door in a safe neighborhood is fine, dressing your kid up in costumes that they picked out (with help) is great! But is your child being taught that 362 days out of the year greed/coveting is wrong, but Halloween (candy-fiend), Christmas (presents), and their birthday (presents again) are okay opportunities for that sin to seep in? Does dressing them up come with discussion of what this day means and what we need to guard our hearts against? A mother I know once said that they stopped doing Halloween because they asked their oldest what it's about and he answered, "Getting candy." What does that say when you're trying to shepherd a servant's heart in your child? You might be shaking your head and saying, "That's too much. We're just having fun." Think on this, dear brother or sister:

"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

That doesn't mean that there are exceptions. It doesn't say that on certain worldly feast days you're good to go and do as you please. Being a child of God is an around the clock job. Make sure that you are impressing upon your children (and yourself!) the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:1-4) at ALL times, even when they are dressed, ready to go, with a ready-to-be-filled jack-o-lantern in hand. If you feel pushed by society to meet society's wants, meet their criteria, remember this: 

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you." -Titus 2:11-15

Okay. I understand that I probably sound like I'm rambling from a soap box. But I warn in love. Guard your hearts and minds this time of year, no, guard them ALL YEAR ROUND. Remember that God did not make annual holidays for the New Testament, man did (Where are the New Testament parallels to the holidays commanded in Leviticus 23?).Christ may or may not have been born in December, and died 33-some odd years later in the spring. Halloween is pagan-oriented, and for those with a Catholic background, going to mandatory church on All Souls Day the next day doesn't make your activities of the night before okay. Again, All Souls Day isn't in scripture. It's a man-made holiday. Some holidays invite celebration (I love the 4th of July), but many invite necessary thought. Do I celebrate Christ risen daily, or only on Easter? Do I rejoice that the Word became flesh (John 1) daily, or only at Christmas time? Do I play into the worldly holidays of Halloween, St. Patrick's Day (I truly think Patrick of Wales would cringe if he knew what his name was in cahoots with now), Mardi Gras, or any other day? God speaks against them in Revelations 2:12-17. The church at Pergamum struggled with compromising their faith and allowing the ways of the country they were in to seep into their ways. 

Again, I'm NOT saying ditch all holidays! If that's not clear, then let this be what you pull from my rattling: Think on what you're doing. Prayerfully consider what you are exposing your family to, and what God says about the things that day holds. Every decision, ESPECIALLY when it comes to your family, should come with prayer, discernment, seeking after God and His word, and follow-through. Again, just food for thought.