Can God redeem anything? The bible shows how Christ took back for himself the symbol of the snake, demon-possessed people, actions meant for evil, meat sacrificed to idols, and the alter the Greek’s made to an unknown god.
But there are also some things that God commits to destruction because their wickedness is too great: the world at the time of the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, the inhabitance of Canaan, the alters to Baal and Asherah, and people who committed certain crimes.
In the new testament we are told to put to death the deeds of the flesh: lust, greed, malice, envy, hypocrisy, slander, deceit. Sins aren’t worth keeping. The sinner is redeemable up to a certain point, but they will probably have to sacrifice certain activities or pastimes to stay far away from the sins that so easily ensnare them.
So how do we know if something can be used for good or if it should be committed to destruction? Certainly it will be different for every person. One man will refuse to even walk into a bar in order to stay away alcohol. Others may have no problem having a glass of wine every night. One woman may have to keep herself off facebook to avoid gossip and slander while another woman may have no troubles there. Some have no issue with contemplating gore and death; while for others, this leads to depression and fears.
Events or avenues or objects may seem wicked, but God may call certain people to enter into these thickets of wickedness for a certain purpose. Gang towns, cannibal tribes, Hollywood, politics, Mormonism, even marriage to a prostitute—although that was certainly an extreme case for Hosea. God would never ask us to sin, but he may ask us to enter places where sin is rampant in order to be his light in the darkness.
Now comes the question that can only be answered by each believing Christian through his or her own communion with God and fellowship with believers. Can Halloween be used for good? Has the day become so wicked that believers must put it to death like they would the deeds of the flesh or is this the place where God would want them to be a light in the darkness?
We can look at the origins of Halloween, but that will not help us make a decision. Christmas after all was the Christians’ solution to the feast of Saturnalias, a week celebration of drunkenness, rape, destruction of property, and human sacrifice in the time of the Roman Empire. We can also consider the atrocious crimes committed and the heightened demonic activity on Halloween, but this only tells us how some decide to celebrate this day, not how we ought to celebrate. Rather, we must ask ourselves, how am I bringing glory to Christ through Halloween?
If the day is a source of fear and anger for us, then perhaps it is best to lock the door, turn off the porch light, and spend some time in prayer and in the word. If God must be ignored in order for us to celebrate Halloween as we wish, then we know we’re joining into the world’s form of self-destruction. If we see the costumes, candy, and pumpkins as merely children’s games, perhaps this is our chance to use those seemingly simple symbols to point others to Christ.
But let us be clear, no action—eating, drinking, waking, sleeping—is neutral. All our efforts are either dedicated to the glory of God or are bringing about the further corruption and decay of our soul.
How does Christ’s power manifest itself in you on Halloween?
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