My wife took my son for a haircut the other day.  The barber had a bobblehead devil decorating her space for Hallowe’en (pictured above).  My son said, “Look!  A hungry guy!”  She chuckled because all my son saw was a guy with two forks.  I mean, what else can you be but hungry if you have TWO forks?!?

As my wife related the story later, she said it made her think of Titus 1:15–“To the pure, everything is pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; in fact, both their mind and conscience are defiled.”  This is my go-to verse when it comes to Hallowe’en.  Depending on one’s faith, this holiday is either fun and harmless or a dalliance with darkness.  My family enjoys putting on costumes and collecting candy door to door.  In other words, we don’t see the devil in Hallowe’en.  We see a guy who’s hungry for candy 😉

I realize some people do make this holiday about evil.  I’m not shutting my eyes to that.  But because of my faith, Hallowe’en isn’t about evil to me.  Others feel differently.  I trust they have prayerfully reached their conclusions and respect their decision not to participate.  Ultimately, the kingdom of God is not about holidays or food (no, not even candy).  It is about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.  It is about belonging to the Lord in all that we do (Rom. 14:5-17).

See “Jack-o’-lanterns for Jesus” for a fuller treatment of Hallowe’en.