HERE’S THE THING ABOUT HALLOWEEN FROM ONE CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE—Halloween has basically been turned into a celebration of death. Look at the yard decorations. Go into a store set up to sell Halloween costumes and associated paraphernalia. Yes, you can find a cute dinosaur costumes for a toddler, and a darling princess dress for a little girl. But 90% of what you will find has to do with death, blood, and gruesomeness. I can hardly stand to walk into those specific stores. (Honestly, can’t you “feel” the evilness of the place? What does your spirit tell you?)
But most of our children just want to have fun dressing up and getting candy. There’s nothing wrong with that! So how do Christian parents deal with the obvious?
Well, Plan A — you can turn off the lights and hide in the basement all night. Or…..
First of all, no matter how young your children are, they need to be educated (in age appropriate ways) of what the Bible says about the culture of death. TALK TO THEM! And if you don’t know what the Bible says about magic, witchcraft, curses, talking to the dead (necromancy) etc, then it’s high time you educate yourself.
Scripture is very clear “CHOOSE LIFE! Unless it’s just make believe then we can have fun and entertain ourselves with the culture of death!” Is that what your Bible says? Choose life unless it’s just entertainment? No….it says choose life.
Here’s some ideas, ALL OF WHICH SHOULD BE PRECEDED BY STUDYING SCRIPTURES WITH YOUR CHILDREN—let them dress up in anything that is not devilish, or evil (that includes witches and ghosts) The Bible says, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8) That should be your guide when choosing costumes.
Secondly, if you go trick or treating, avoid the houses with ghosts, demons, tombstones, and obvious symbols of the demonic and death. If you can’t avoid them in your neighborhood, choose instead to drive to the homes of you Christian friends around town who you know will not have this type of thing in their years.
Talk to your children about Jesus rising form the dead. What was the result? He defeated sin, hell, sickness, and the grave. So why do we want to go in reverse even if it’s just entertainment? Look—you as an adult can distinguish between all the issues of Halloween, but your children cannot. You are their filter. If you celebrate the culture of death, they will too. It waters down their opinion of the firmness of the Bible and whether it really means what it says, or that we can pick and choose what we want to follow.
Bottom line — EDUCATE YOUR CHILDREN. “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so THAT YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN MAY LIVE!” (Deut 30:19)
We’ve got some great fun, colorful, kid-friendly educational signs to help educate your kids. Make yard signs and plaster your own yard with them to light up the night with the message of the gospel, not death. Check them out here: https://buff.ly/2yCdE3w
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Becky Fischer
Becky Fischer, apostolic minister, author, public speaker, graphic artist, entrepreneur, and more is the founder and director of Kids in Ministry International (KIMI). KIMI, founded in 2001, is a multifaceted ministry that trains children to walk in the supernatural power of God. It also equips leaders and parents to equip children the same way. Becky has been in children’s ministry over 30 years, ten years as a children’s pastor and twenty years as the director of KIMI. She, along with her international teams, has trained thousands of children, teens, parents, and children’s workers through conferences, Bible schools, mission trips, churches and resource materials in over 50 nations. Becky herself has ministered in 29 of those nations.