Halloween is a difficult time of year for many Christians. There are so many aspects of the holiday that are clearly demonic in nature, but there are also so many aspects that are fun and enjoyable. This is especially true for families with young children. Many of us find ourselves asking: how do we, as Christians, reconcile the aspects of Halloween that seem innocent with those that are clearly worshipping evil? How do we approach Halloween as a family, or even as an individual?
God has wisdom for us on every issue we face, so let’s take some time to look into the insight God has to give us on handling Halloween.
Halloween is a spiritual time.
For a lot of people, Halloween is just a time to dress up as their favorite movie character and indulge in sweet treats. There is no focus on the occult whatsoever. It used to be that Halloween featured minimal demonic references, and that a family could participate in Halloween with little exposure to the occult. However, this time of year seems to be getting darker and darker as time goes on and as the culture grows further from God. Ultimately, this is because the world is headed to the end, and, as it as we grow nearer to Christ’s return, evil becomes more and more acceptable to the world. We can see this very clearly in the celebration of Halloween, which is a celebration of evil and death. This aspect of the holiday is becoming stronger and stronger as a result of its portrayal in Hollywood and on social media. It is presented as exciting and people are attracted to it. As the activity of the demonic increases, it draws in unsuspecting believers. The acceptability and prevalence of the demonic during this time of the year opens the doors for an influx of spiritual warfare. Why? Because this celebration of the occult and of death is really just a big celebration of the Enemy, and when we participate in that, we open the door for dark spiritual things to come in.
So, should we just not participate?
With all the darkness and the increase of the spiritually occult, how are we, as Christians, supposed to handle Halloween? What about our young kids, who don’t know anything about it yet? Do we just make a hard and fast rule?
There is no absolute yes or no to the question of whether you and your family should participate in Halloween. Instead, we need to seek God and seek His wisdom.
Ephesians 5 lays out three statements on how we are to walk:
Ephesians 5:1-7
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them
The first, outlined in verses 1-7, is to walk in love. Our focus as Christians is to be on walking with Christ, who loved us. We can do this because of His sacrifice for us. It’s not a performance relationship, but a heart relationship. We choose to walk with Christ and according to His wisdom for us because we love Him and know that His will is best none better, not because of a need to become perfect in our own strength. When we walk with Him, we are in His Kingdom. He warns us to not get involved in the things that aren’t of Him because when we walk in these things, we are pulled out of the Kingdom and away from Him. If you join in and promote darkness and the occult, you have walked out of the Kingdom and you will not be able to experience His love, or, in turn, love anyone else, because you can’t bring in light apart from God. The world is actually influencing you, not the other way around.
Is there a way we can participate in Halloween and still glorify God? Yes! Let’s continue on in Ephesians:
Ephesians 5:8-14
8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
The fruit of the Spirit is all goodness, righteousness, and truth. What the Spirit will produce is going to be directly centered around the Kingdom of righteousness, the goodness of God, and the truth of God. If we look at these things, we can find out what is acceptable to the Lord as we look at this week coming up. Ask the Father to show you His will, knowing that your role is to bring light and expose darkness. Remember, you can only be the light if you are in the light—in the Kingdom of God!
Fundamentally, our role is to bring light to our family and to the other people around us. Some of us may be called to speak to the real darkness out there. However, since people are so entrenched in this holiday, it is going to take God opening up a door for you to have any impact at all. So, could we be involved in the darkness to expose it? Yes. But only if God has truly called you to that. For most of us, our calling during this time will be to help our family and our inner circle, or small group, understand the difference between light and darkness. Be wary of leading them to join the darkness. Rather, join together with your family or your inner circle to find out what God has to say. Ask Him to guide you and show you what He would have you be a part of during this time. Is there something that you, as a group, could do differently to promote light rather than darkness? Our role is to be the light, because He is the light and He desires us to likewise be the light.
But how do we do that, practically?
Pursuing light during Halloween.
Ephesians 5:15-21
15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
As verse 15 states, the days are evil by themselves. We have enough trouble generally. Halloween is even more evil because it is a purposeful celebration of darkness. So what is our job? To redeem the time. He doesn’t want us to participate in darkness and evil, but wants us to help people understand the difference between joining and not joining. Allow Him to give you wisdom as to how He wants you to participate or not during this holiday.
Get creative.
If you have a young family, you may be struggling with how to deal with Halloween this year. Little kids have a tendency to get excited about the fun of Halloween. Their friends are doing it, and, in their eyes, the costumes and the candy are just fun. So how do you handle Halloween without crushing your kids?
The first thing to consider is whether your church has set up something special for the congregation during Halloween. Many church communities create events during Halloween that allow kids to dress up, get candy, and have fun without the presence of the occult. Maybe your church doesn’t have anything like this, but another church in the area does. This would be great to find out, since it would allow for your kids to experience the excitement of Halloween without exposing them to spiritual darkness.
If there isn’t anything like this in your area, consider what you could do as a family or a small group. Perhaps you could have a party, or an event where the kids can dress up and get candy. It doesn’t take much to pull it off, and you could do it as a small group or as an extended family.
Halloween: an opportunity for discussion!
Additionally, take this opportunity to explain the difference between light and dark to your children. Halloween is actually a fantastic teaching moment, when you can discuss the value and truth of scripture with your family, as well as the application of it in this particular situation. The application is important. If you never tell your kids why they’re not allowed to do something, they will grow to resent it, and will go do it as soon as they are old enough to have the chance. Rather than just telling your kids that they can’t participate, discuss the reasoning behind your decision. You don’t even have to bring in judgment against their friends, or anyone else. Just explain why you are doing things they way you are. Explain that they can have a grand time doing it the way your family has decided upon, you’re just not going to join in celebrating the way the world does. It’s a great opportunity to teach them and help them understand the difference between darkness and light.
A note for teenagers and young adults:
All that we have discussed above can apply to you too! Halloween is a time of year when there are so many fun things going on, but don’t fall into the trap of opening yourself up to spiritual darkness. God asks you not to join in the darkness, since spiritual things are very real, and have a very real effect on your life. Spend some time openly discussing what God is calling you to do this Halloween. It is a fun time, so have fun, but consider how you can have fun without joining in on the evil. Do it in a way of light, rather than darkness.
Ultimately…
We encourage you—no matter what walk of life you are currently in—to recognize these truths we have discussed. Halloween can be a grand time, and you still have a grand time while walking in the light. In the end, it is so much better to do it this way than to cross a line into darkness and find yourself in a season of spiritual struggling. Seek wisdom—God will show you what to do if you have the heart to do it. Pursue the light in a time of darkness this week.
This blog post was written off of an episode of ‘Come and See’, the Abide Ministries podcast, which was aired on Monday, October 28. If you would like to dive deeper into this subject, go listen to that episode on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, or on our website: https://abideministries.com/podcast/. And, as always, please contact us with any questions you may have. We’d love to hear from you!
