I hate Halloween. I have always hated Halloween. OK, maybe not when I was a kid. Back then I was willing to suffer the agony of a sweaty mask and plastic costume in exchange for a couple pounds of chocolate. That has changed as the adult years have crept in and, along with those, the reality of the world we live in. I think about the people for whom blood, gore, and violence are not artificial. While we are decorating our yards with severed limbs, they are seeing them in their marketplace after the bombs go off. While we are celebrating monsters, they are running for their lives from them.
You're saying "That's not what it's all about, it's about dressing up your kids and going out for a little fun". I hear you, I've been told that many times over the years. I'm not questioning your motives or looking to throw a wrench in the works. I know your toddler in a fairy princess costume isn't scary. What is scary to me about Halloween is that it conditions us to gaze upon horrific images and see them as unreal and by doing so we no longer react. We drive past impaled effigies, or men of straw hanging by their necks from trees, and we do not even blink. We seek out the "House of Horror" where we can be chased by actors wielding chain saws and hatchets and we call it fun. Heaven forbid we should ever experience this type of evil as our own personal reality like so many others. The fact that a young woman lost her life in a violent manner and the passers by did not cringe at the sight of her body on that fence makes me ill.
Our time is short and we are allowing the devil to gain too much ground. We have been sitting and it is long past time for us to stand. Ephesians 6:10 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground..."
You're saying "That's not what it's all about, it's about dressing up your kids and going out for a little fun". I hear you, I've been told that many times over the years. I'm not questioning your motives or looking to throw a wrench in the works. I know your toddler in a fairy princess costume isn't scary. What is scary to me about Halloween is that it conditions us to gaze upon horrific images and see them as unreal and by doing so we no longer react. We drive past impaled effigies, or men of straw hanging by their necks from trees, and we do not even blink. We seek out the "House of Horror" where we can be chased by actors wielding chain saws and hatchets and we call it fun. Heaven forbid we should ever experience this type of evil as our own personal reality like so many others. The fact that a young woman lost her life in a violent manner and the passers by did not cringe at the sight of her body on that fence makes me ill.
Our time is short and we are allowing the devil to gain too much ground. We have been sitting and it is long past time for us to stand. Ephesians 6:10 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground..."
