Halloween and Booble Verses

Strolling around my neighborhood I have noticed more Halloween decorations than ever. Statistics indicate that the purchase of Halloween decorations hit a record high this year. I can see why with all of the neighborhood’s orange, purple, and green lights, spider webs, mummies, tombstones, and ghosts hanging in the trees. When I was growing up, all we had was a carved pumpkin with the usual triangular eyes, nose, and snaggle-toothed smile sitting on our steps with a lighted candle inside.

Our costumes were simple too: things like pirates, cowboys, scarecrows, hobos, and Raggedy Anns. Once my mother gave me a bed sheet and told me to cut holes in it for the eyes! It ranked as my worst costume ever since the eyes shifted as my sister Nancy and I walked from house to house.

I feel sorry for parents these days. Costumes now have to be culturally appropriate! Huh? What the heck is that supposed to mean? I’ll tell you. Cultural appropriation is when someone adopts a culture that isn’t their own and does not acknowledge or respect the culture being used for their own benefit, according to the Cambridge Dictionary. Examples include Indian or Egyptian attire, African American wigs, even some Disney characters. Yikes! You don’t want you or your child’s costume to come off as racist or offensive, now do you?

“Rather than dressing up, people should respect and engage with communities instead, whether that be learning about their interest or needs as a community.†I’m sorry, but I had to hold back my laughter at this quote from the director of the American Indian Studies at UCLA as I envisioned children lining up to go to a program at the UCLA Center to learn more about Indian culture rather than go trick-or-treating. Not! 

Evil is Among Us

Halloween is certainly evolving with decorations and costumes but one aspect surrounding it remains. Evil. Halloween tends to highlight evil acts and/or the evil realm . As Christians, we are all too familiar with the one who epitomizes the essence of evil – Satan, the devil, the enemy, or whatever you want to call him. We are told to stay alert. Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Hmmmm, that’s an interesting costume. We can resist the devil, and he will flee from us but we must humble ourselves before God in order for that to happen.

Darkness is the hiding place for evil. People love the darkness more than the light. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. Oh yeah, it’s true. The line between dark and light, good and evil gets blurred. Sin is the culprit. We are the culprit. There’s sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark. One cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too.

We must expose evil and darkness. We are to take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. Those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.

Our best bet is to stay away from every kind of evil. But that’s not always possible. This world seems to become more evil by the day, doesn’t it? Maybe that’s why the Bible says to make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.

Jack-o-lanterns for Jesus

Halloween may not necessarily be the time when we consider the love of Jesus and how He transforms our lives. Not for one recently baptized lady.

Soon after her baptism, one of her coworkers asked her what it was like to be a Christian. Surprised by his question and unsure of how to answer, she saw a jack-o-lantern sitting on a coworker’s desk. She responded, “It’s like being a pumpkin.â€

“What do you mean?†asked the coworker.

“Well, God picks you from the patch and brings you in. Then He washes off all of the dirt on the outside that you got from being around all of the other pumpkins. He cuts off the top and takes out all of the yucky stuff inside. All those seeds of doubt, hate, greed, and more are removed and discarded. Then He carves a new smiling face onto your face. Lastly and most importantly, He puts His light inside of you to shine for all to see.†(Modified from an anonymous devotional)

So as you give out your candy to the kids that knock on your door dressed in their culturally appropriate costumes, do so with a smile on your face, joy in your heart, and, by all means, a lighted pumpkin on your porch.  

This blog was written incorporating numerous Booble, I mean, Bible references. Some were quoted, others were paraphrased. I didn’t want to distract in any way from the content so I did not note the references in context. However, here are the scripture used borrowed from a Country Living article:

• I Peter 5:8
• James 4:7
• John 3:19-20
• Isaiah 5:20
• I Corinthians 10:21
• Ephesians 5:11
• John 3:21
• I Thessalonians 5:22
• Ephesians 5:16

HAPPY ALL SAINTS’ EVE