Works of Darkness
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. – Romans 13:12.
Halloween was a holiday, which I as a young boy was allowed to participate in and I remember trick or treating around my grandparent’s house since they lived in town. The very first time that I remember going trick or treating on Halloween was when we were visiting relatives in San Francisco. When my sons were old enough I took them trick or treating. However, as I have grown as a Christian and learned more, my thoughts about Halloween have changed.
I have come to realize that at the very best Halloween is a pagan holiday and at the very worst it is the devil’s holiday. I have read testimonies of people who claim because of Halloween experiences they were launched on the wrong course for a major portion of their lives. Halloween does seem to say that bad is good. It does seem to say that fear is good for you. It does seem to say that the devil’s just a good old boy and not all that bad. But that is in direct contradiction of the Word of God.
The more we are exposed to evil the less we are sensitive to the evil of it. We should avoid those things that we know are evil and we should shield our children from them as well. Mature video games that feature graphic murder, torture, and worse should be avoided like the plague. The evil of pornography also destroys our spiritual sensitivities. The more evil we participate in, and expose ourselves to the less of God and the spiritual side of things we will have.
The more fear is put into us the more it seems good to put fear into others. The more bad is presented to us as being good the more likely we are to do bad things. The evil fearful things open up a doorway for the enemy to enter into our lives and at the very least, we should keep that doorway bolted shut in the lives of our children.
If we are honest with ourselves, Halloween is a holiday of darkness, of evil. We are very familiar with the armor of Ephesians but there is another element of armor that we need to have. In a day of evil and darkness, surely we need the armor of light. “…let us put on the armor of light.”
(The creating of fear in children is harmful and damaging. It only serves to open the door for the enemy to create havoc in their lives. We should flee from the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.)