Holidays or “Hollow days”? Part 2

Jim Rohn talked about getting a good meal out of the trash. He said, “If you work hard, if you search, if you are determined, you could probably come up with some good things out of the trash heap. But is that how you really want to get your dinner? Even once?”

Of course not.

When it comes to training our kids, Halloween can be that kind of experience. As adults we can sort through all the costumes, decorations, and scary movies without much trouble. It is so easy in fact that we can forget to protect the little ones who have no filters for all that stuff.

Try Philippians 4:8 as a standard. Use each key word as a heading and list the things from Halloween that fit that heading.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—
think about such things.

Consider the age of your children as a key factor. Little children until age seven have difficulty discerning real from make-believe. At the same time they are in their most formative stage when it comes to shaping their securities and their fears. I have seen the little ones wrapped around their parents’ legs in fear all because their parents want them to “have some Halloween fun.”

One event can stay in the memory forever, especially when it is traumatic or fear-inducing. Can you remember a time when you were little and you were scared out of your wits by some fun-loving older sibling? Whether it was ghost stories or jumping out from behind a bush, do you remember not being able to sleep because of your fear?

Do you think that a big part of our lives is affected by what we do not see? Are there spiritual forces at work in our world today? The Bible mentions them and warns us. Children are often more sensitive to spiritual things than we are. Jesus spent quite a bit of time setting people free from evil spirits. Do we unnecessarily expose our children to spiritual forces in the name of fun? What kind of doors are we opening during the Halloween season? 


Are Christians different than those around them? Should we be? Is Halloween a good time to demonstrate that difference? I think it is. This Halloween, take the time to explain to your children that we are people of light and not darkness. Explain that following Jesus does require that we live different kinds of lives. Dare to be different in this culture.

It will do something in you and in your children.

(Note: Thank you to those of you who commented last week. If anyone has not read the comments from last week, I encourage you to read them. They are noteworthy.)