Thursday; October 31

I have very mixed emotions about Halloween.  On the one hand, I see it as an opportunity for community people (especially small children) to get dressed up in silly costumes and play in the dark.  After all, who doesn’t want to go the neighbor’s house and get a handful of Tootsie Rolls or Smarties!  It is one of the few time when communities come together and you might even get a chance to say “Hi” to our neighbors.  I have participated in many of the activities associated with the day and we allowed our children to go Trick Or Treating.
There are other sides to the day that I am not too keen on.  I am not a big fan of the pranks that have come to symbolize the day (I am well aware of what a frozen pumpkin can do to the back window of a car or the mess dozens of eggs can do to a house).  The adult-based games of “Trick Or Drinking” is not something that promotes safety or security.  Maybe, most of all, the thing that causes the most discomfort is how the day tends to trivialize the demonic world.  I am not exactly sure what satan and his realm look like, but I do know that is not as innocuous as Halloween tends to make it.  The devil is not a superhero or an oaf, so a costume depicting his world in any way has the tendency to misrepresent who he really is – our adversary who hopes to steal our soul. 
I will not be the one who advocates an end to Halloween, but one thing I do ask is that we make sure to think about what we do and who we represent.  Do our costumes and actions bless the God we worship each and every day?  If not, maybe it should be replaced by some that will – or at least something that won’t be offensive to Him.
         Think About It!

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