Halloween holds lots of good memories for me—including deciding what costume to wear, walking around the neighborhood with my family, and swapping candy with my cousins. I remember looking at the fun Halloween decorations, carving pumpkins, and watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on our VCR player. You can still find the cardboard cookie costume that I wore when I was six years old and the pictures of me in a ballerina princess costume. I’m still a fan of Halloween candy and pumpkin-themed decor.
In Christian circles, Halloween is usually a controversial subject. Sadly, we don’t often talk about it. Some believers seem to want to completely avoid it and its implications. They simply slap a label on it that says “acceptable” or “unacceptable.”
But there’s more to Halloween than gooey candy and cute costumes. There’s also more to Halloween than evil witches and creepy goblins. This holiday requires us to determine—and discuss—our convictions.
At the Heart of Halloween
When I was growing up, many of my friends didn’t celebrate Halloween. They didn’t go trick-or-treating, wear costumes, or have Halloween parties. Not celebrating Halloween was normal among my Christian friends.
Celebrating or not celebrating Halloween is a choice that every Christian must make for himself or herself. If you’re convicted that Halloween is evil, don’t celebrate it. If you’re not convicted that Halloween is evil, feel free to celebrate it.
Of course, there are specific aspects of Halloween that everyone should avoid, including witchcraft, sorcery, and other things that the Bible warns against. But there are specific aspects of Halloween, like dressing up in fun costumes and carving pumpkins, that aren’t addressed in the Bible.
Your convictions are between you and the Holy Spirit. Convictions shouldn’t be based on trends in Christian circles—or trends in the culture. They should always come from the Holy Spirit.
Eating, Drinking, and Halloween-ing
Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (Romans 14:20-23 ESV)
In this passage, Paul explained that the Romans should stick to their convictions and not cause other believers to abandon their convictions. Though this passage addresses convictions regarding eating and drinking, I think that it can apply to our other convictions, too. We need to live by faith and the convictions that stem from our faith. In applying this to Halloween, Christians should faithfully live by to their convictions and not cause others to neglect their convictions.
Let’s not make this Halloween something to argue about—or keep silent about. We can talk about the sticky issues in Christianity if we follow God’s Word. On this upcoming Halloween holiday, let’s stick to our convictions and not cause our Christian brothers and sisters to waver in their convictions. Whether you decide to trick-or-treat, hand out candy, or simply stay home, I hope you have a great time!
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