Just thinking

I was driving home from the office today and, for the first time that I can ever remember, passed a family walking along the side of the road that looked like they were ‘trick-or-treating.’ There were a mom and dad, dressed in fairly normal gear. And then there were three kids dressed up in cute outfits and carrying bags that were obviously intended to gather sweets. My family then headed off to Spur for a quick dinner and, while we were there, I saw another family with two kids who were dressed up in Halloween costumes. For a long time Halloween has not been celebrated in this country, but more and more people have begun to embrace the occasion and celebrate it like we see on TV and in movies.

As the celebration gains ground and momentum in our context, the questions arises as to how we respond. I mean for Christians, of course. Do we just embrace it? Do we reject it? How do we make a decision about whether to participate or not? Is it merely an innocent celebration or is it something more sinister? I’d like to discuss some of those questions in this post. Hopefully it will equip you not just with a whole lot of information about Halloween, but with the necessary tools to make these decisions with confidence in the future.

Origin, History & Meaning
Most ‘Christian’ posts on the subject will start out with discussing the origin and history of the celebration. Most of them will allude to links with paganism and the connections with ghosts. I, however, don’t intend to discuss the origin or the history of the festival. Besides the fact that the history is not always clear, my reason for this is as follows : I don’t believe that we need to be historians in order to make an informed and wise decision about what we do and do not participate in. The scriptures, the body of Christ, the Holy Spirit and our own God-given faculties of discernment are, I believe, sufficient for us to make an assessment of how to respond to Halloween.

The next subject that will usually be covered is the symbolism or the meaning of the festival. The argument goes something like this : because it was initially about celebrating some or other god or celebrating the dead; it therefore means that to celebrate it today, in any way, shape or form, is to celebrate the same thing(s) as those who initially instituted the festival. Well, I don’t really think that makes sense. If it does, then we probably shouldn’t celebrate Christmas or Easter because they have equally uncertain origins. If an unsaved man with absolutely no knowledge of God gets baptised has he automatically entered into the grace of baptism because of the sacrament’s original meaning? Do the millions of people who take communion every Sunday automatically gain salvation because of the original meaning of communion? Of course not. So how is it that we believe this if the original meaning is negative?

How the devil deceives
One of the areas that causes such uncertainty and insecurity for many of us who love God is that we understand that the devil is a deceiver. There are those who suggest that to participate in Halloween activities in any way is to open yourself spiritually to, at best, being influenced, or, at worst, being taken captive, by the devil. That the devil has hidden himself in the celebration. This is just not a biblical idea. The power of the devil is in deceiving us, not in hiding himself. What do I mean by this? The way in which the enemy takes us captive is to deceive us into disobeying God’s clear instruction to us. He convinces Adam and Eve that eating the fruit will not result in death. He convinces men that in their circumstance it’s ok to commit adultery. He convinces people that they are justified in holding onto hurt and unforgiveness. He convinces people that its not wrong to sleep around. These are actions clearly identified by scripture as sin. And so to engage in these activities is to risk being taken captive by the devil. Dressing up in cute fancy dress is not an action identified in scripture as sin. Nor is wandering around the neighbourhood asking for sweets. The devil is not trying to deceive us into engaging in these innocuous activities – he’s trying to ensnare us to sin.

Perception is important
Am I now suggesting that Christians should embrace Halloween like any other celebration? Am I suggesting that there is no difference between Halloween, Easter and Christmas? I’m not. Not either of these. At Christmas I celebrate the coming of Jesus. I also celebrate in the way my culture celebrates. But the celebration, for me, is an act of worship. Same with Easter. Celebrating Halloween is not an act of worship for me because there is no element in it that is a celebration of Christ. Does this make it evil? No. As regards worship, it equates it with celebrating a birthday or Valentines Day or Mothers Day. Except that we are also compelled to deal with the negative [or evil] connotations of Halloween. The scriptures in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 on food offered to idols are relevant in giving us some insight here. You can read the scriptures for yourself. But I believe the application is as follows : there are some activities that we don’t engage in, not because we are at risk of defiling ourselves, but because [a] they can cause confusion for the weak, and [b] they give us an opportunity to distinguish ourselves from the world.

So what do we do? How do we respond?
Stop judging others : this is a matter of individual belief and the Spirit of God is not compelled to lead every individual to the same behaviour. Kids going collecting sweets is innocent behaviour.
Stop being fearful : fear comes from sin or confusion. Be clear-minded about your beliefs and don’t allow uncertainty to result in fear.
Be radical : while fear of deception is a terrible reason not to celebrate Halloween, distinguishing ourselves from the world is a great reason. No judgment here, and no fear, but lets no succumb to peer pressure and become so ‘relevant’ that we don’t look different to the world.

Got a different view? Agree? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

“At length one morning Kuei-hua the cook appeared with serious news for his master. The very last bag of rice had been opened, and was disappearing rapidly. ’Then,’ replied Hudson Tayler, ‘the Lord’s time for helping us must be close at hand.’ And so it proved. For before that bag of rice was finished a letter reached the young missionary that was among the most remarkable he ever received. It was from Mr Berger, and contained a cheque for fifty pounds, like others that had come before. Only in this case the letter went on to say that a heavy burden had come upon the writer, the burden of wealth to use for God. Mr Berger’s father had recently passed away, leaving him a considerable increase of fortune. The son did not wish to enlarge his personal expenditure. He had had enough before and was not praying to be guided as the the Lord’s purpose in what had taken place.”
- Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret by Dr and Mrs Howard Taylor

This story  is in a section of the book where they are celebrating God’s miraculous provision to Hudson Taylor while he was in China. As the last bag of rice was about to finish, a cheque arrives from somebody in the UK who has no idea of their situation [middle 1800s - no telephones, email, internet].  The sentence that strikes me from this extract though, is this one:

The son did not wish to enlarge his personal expenditure.

That statement is so foreign to the world that surrounds us, even in the church. Fifty pounds from around Hudson Taylor’s time is probably worth about somewhere around R35,000 in today’s money. I haven’t quoted it here, but the story goes on to relay that the fifty pounds is only a portion of the inheritance received by this young man. He was still considering how he could spend the bulk of it. So it must have been a significant amount of money that he had inherited. But his response was not, ‘Oh great, now I can pay off my debt.’ Or, ‘Fantastic, now I can get DSTV and a new Flat Screen.’ It was not, ‘Now I can go to movies more often.’ It was not ‘Let me save some more for my retirement.’ He did not want to spend any more money on his life and lifestyle.

I don’t think I’ve ever met somebody in that position. And I don’t think I’ve ever been in that position myself. And yet for both me, and most of those around me, the truth is that our circumstances actually allow for the possibility of that statement. Statistically, me and my mates are probably in the top five percent of earners on the planet. So how is it that I have never heard somebody say that? And more to the point, how is that I’ve never said it? Have we been taken captive by the deceptiveness of wealth? Have we allowed our senses to be lulled by an unending desire for more?

It’s got me thinking about the early book of Acts.

All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
Acts 2:44-45

³² All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. ³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all ³⁴ that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵ and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
Acts 4:32-35

As an aside, it’s interesting to me that both of these accounts directly follow an account where the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit. It is disturbing to me when I see a so-called hunger for God’s Spirit that seems to be unaccompanied by a hunger for Christ-likeness and devoid of any sacrifice. Sadly, I see it quite often. Anyway, I’ll leave you to ponder on some of that for yourself – I’m sure it will turn up in a future post.

I do want to suggest, though, that simple sharing may distinguish us from the world more than any other evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit among us. It could be the greatest sign and wonder of our day. Maybe. It would certainly cause us to stand out.

So. How do we do it? Who do we give to? What about those who will take advantage of us? Isn’t important that we steward well and not throw out money down the drain? I reckon these are all great and important questions. But I think that the right to ask them is reserved for those who are already living out the kind of generosity and financial contentment that God wants for us. First and foremost, God is after our hearts. And the heart he is looking for is a heart that
[1]  Trusts in Him
[2] Cares for others by sharing and giving
[3] Is not endlessly hungry for more

For many, if not most, of us, I think the appropriate response is this. Find somebody who has less than you – anybody will do. And find a way to secretly share some of what you have with them. And then do it again. And again. And again. Until its a habit and a lifestyle. God allow us to see where we have been deceived. And God deliver us from an endless hunger for more.

Have you been captured by what you have? Is this just some unrealistic ideal? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

You would never say so if you saw my desk, but I actually have a bit of a perfectionist in my personality. Not the classic, traditional neat-freak type of perfectionist. But when I do things I like to do them properly. And I hate to fail. So when I do clean my desk, I do it properly. In between those times I really only have the time and energy to do a half job. My personality can’t cope with that so I rather leave it messy.

Yesterday was a particularly hot day in Durban. And we are babysitting a friend’s daughter at the moment. So we figured it was time to pull out the pool. It’s a blow up splash pool that had been sitting on the courtyard gathering dust since we used it at the end of last summer. Because of wind and an enterprising son, it was quite dirty and had a layer of sand on the floor of the pool. So, of course I had to do a bit of cleaning before I could fill it with water. I started cleaning and soon realized that I had a choice to make. Either I indulge my personality and clean the pool to the degree where it was spotless and almost like brand new. Or I just give it a basic rinse to get the worst of the sand off and then start filling it up. My natural leaning, of course, was to do the former. The problem was that it was nearly time for the kids’ afternoon sleep. This meant that my choice became the following:

• indulge my personality and clean the pool properly, but leave no time for the kids to swim in it
• ignore my personality and give the pool a basic rinse and let the kids enjoy the water on such a hot day

Obviously I went for the 2nd option. But it got me thinking about how we can live with unredeemed thinking and completely miss out on all the good things God has intended for us in our lives here.

In John 10:10, Jesus says this:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

The broader context of this scripture is that an event has just taken place that should be wildly celebrated and enjoyed. A man who was born blind has been healed. But instead the Pharisees have invested a whole lot of time and energy trying to probe that what happened didn’t really happen. Part of Jesus’ audience as he makes this statement is those Pharisees. Because it is always the habit of a Pharisee to look for what’s wrong, what’s not perfect, instead of enjoying the goodness and kindness of God.

We often do the same. We find reasons why we can’t be recipients of His kindness. We disqualify ourselves. We disqualify others. We can spend lots of time trying to make sure things fit the rules of our personality when God wants to pour out His limitless kindness on us. For no reason other than that He loves us. We disqualify ourselves from service for the same reason. As far as I can see in scripture, nobody is EVER disqualified from service or from God’s kindness for any reason whatsoever. I’m reminded of that scripture in Psalms 130:3
“If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?”

None of us qualify. None of us are perfect. None of us are good enough. God includes is anyway. God shows us kindness and favour anyway. I don’t want to spend my whole life cleaning the pool and never dive in, get some relief from the heat and just enjoy the water. I hope you’ll join me.