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Should we really be focusing on the devil, witches and other dark beings, even for one night? God says, "Don't imitate evil!"
Fall is my favorite time of year! I love the crisp air, vibrant colored leaves—sweater weather (Yes, I know that doesn't apply in California, but I'm from the North!). However, for the past few years, I dread the first part of fall due to the excitement and imagery of Halloween.

I'm sure there are people who think I'm fanatical, but God has placed in my heart a love for the things of Him, and somehow, the practices of Halloween have just not found a place in there.

A summary of Second Corinthians 6:14-17 would be:
What do righteousness and wickedness have in common? What fellowship can light have with darkness? Separate from the ungodly, don't touch or dabble in the unclean things and God will receive you.
What does this have to do with a harmless holiday of tricks and treats?

Let's see....

Just imagine the sights and sounds of Halloween...stores with every costume from cute to gory, spooky sounds coming from TV and radio announcements, children in classrooms discussing their choice of costumes, teachers creating bulletin boards with "adorable" witches and ghosts, PTA's planning of the "fall" carnival complete with haunted house...all leading up to the BIG NIGHT!

Houses with eerie lights and sounds coming from outside or within, carved jack-o-lanterns lit to expose the creativity of the inhabitants within..."haunted houses" complete with the goriest scenes imaginable!

Sidewalks swarming with children masqueraded as Star Wars characters, princesses, cowboys, witches, devils, ghosts, skeletons and vampires. Their mission...to go door to door and shout "trick or treat," hoping to collect a ton of candy before the night is over.

How do I know about all of this if I abhor Halloween? I've been there! I have been to the most scariest and bloodiest of fright factories. I "trick or treated" for years in costumes ranging from princesses to witches. I watched the "Freddy Kruger" and "Halloween" type movies during my teen years.

I did it all folks—lock, stock and barrel! Back then it seemed like harmless fun.

What did I gain from it? Pure fear of evil is what I gained!

Sure, I had fond memories of the fun and craziness, but what came with it was a spirit of fear. At slumber parties, I often ended up not staying the whole night...my parents would come and pick me up because I "heard or saw something" at the house I was at and I was afraid it would get me.

When my mom's uncle died of a heart attack, I slept with my hand over my heart for an entire year, thinking if I could feel my heart stop beating, I could tell my parents in time before I died. I was eight years old.

When I was in high school, as well as in college and newly married, I was deathly afraid that I would get assaulted or murdered. My friends and I dealt with vivid, real encounters with evil spirits.

What I Got Was Fear
I was a good girl—high moral virtues, never in trouble, honest, trustworthy, obedient to my parents, a leader in church and school—what more could you want from a child?

Yet, because I entertained things that were not of God into my thoughts and livelihood, I received fear.

We know from the Word of God that fear is not of God. Second Timothy 1:7 says that "...God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

You've heard people say, "Well, we only do this in fun...we don't practice witchcraft."

That which represents Satan and his domain cannot be handled or emulated "for fun." Such participation places you in enemy (and forbidden) territory and that is dangerous ground. The bottom line is if it's not of God, then it's of the flesh and the world.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
(Eph. 6:12)

Throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us and fix our eyes on Jesus.
(Heb. 12:1-2)
Yet, this one night of the year, most eyes are not fixed on Jesus but on a darker image.

Should we really be focusing on the devil, witches and other dark beings, even for one night? God says, "Don't imitate evil!" (Deut. 18:9-11) and "Abstain from all appearance of evil" (1 Thess. 5:22).

If we participate in the practices of Halloween, then aren't we imitating that which is evil? Are we abstaining from even the appearance of evil? No, we are preferring evil over good. We are allowing Satan to neutralize our Christian walk with the "it's harmless" or "it's only for one day" mentality.

By allowing our children to participate in Halloween, we are confusing them about good and evil, as well as opening their hearts to fear. They will learn to fear the devil, rather that fear God. Instead, we should teach them to understand that Christ has overcome the world and made us victors in Him.

Don't let the devil pull you into his deceit. Seek God and let Him show you His ways. When you truly receive from Him, you will turn from all appearance of evil and never want it in your life again!

Copyright © 2003 Tami Shipman
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Author Biography

David Shipman
Web site: Covenant of Peace International
 
Pastor David Shipman is one of the founding pastors of Fellowship of Hope and presently serves as the Senior Pastor. He employs a very aggressive and responsive attitude toward the Word of God. Believing whole heartedly Jesus’ Words found in Mark 9:23, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”
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