Today many will pay homage to the “god” of disappointment and discouragement. Yes, I am talking about today, the day of Halloween.

So, what do I mean by that? I mean that many will celebrate Halloween and give themselves over to demonic workings. BUT, I know that you can do that any day. It does not have to be Halloween. You can find something to change your life for the worse and it does not have to be a child in a Garfield costume.

So, what about Halloween? Many know where I came from prior to Christ. You can read my testimony of being severely involved in witchcraft. You can read my thoughts over the years about Halloween. But today I am going to take on two things.

Is Halloween a gateway drug for witchcraft? Perhaps no more than entering a McDonalds is a gateway drug for being a hamburger. In either case just because you enter does not mean you have become changed. I think a gateway is only an entrance for those that choose to enter something. What you choose to do with it is the difference.

I do think Halloween has the ability to remove the fear of the devil but that is only in certain circumstances. Teaching a child to be “afraid” and then showing there is nothing to be afraid may seem sound, but I am not sure it is wisdom. Many people in witchcraft actually saw Halloween as “amateur’s night”, but like anything under the right circumstances it has the ability to pull people away from God.

Believers often want to know should they celebrate Halloween. My response is “what is God saying”. The short answer for me is I do not “celebrate” Halloween. I am not denigrating those that do. I don’t read Harry Potter or participate in sci-fi either. It does not mean I am boycotting any of that, but I have seen it take people out of the loop into the world of darkness. Anything can be a distraction to a fulfilling life with God, given the right circumstances. That said, I do not think we ought to to place the emphasis on the fearful.

And that is the next point-fear. If fear is a spirit, why would you want to introduce it? Why would you want your child to experience fear? (I truly do not believe there is a “healthy fear”.) Why would you want to open the door? Because if there is a “gateway drug” it is fear. A true spirit the Bible tells us. So why would you open the door and let the devil in?

Did I become a witch because of Halloween? No. Perhaps mostly because of introduced fear. And THEN Halloween helped. Going out to be scared and scare others lead to nights in cemeteries and an infatuation with death and the “beyond”. Seances, Ouija boards and more.

So, when you go to take your precious child, your gift from God out, think about what you are trying to accomplish. Is it to have a memorable experience of fun and family or will it turn into a night of “Carrie”?

I will not fault you. I will say if it is to allow fear, teach bad eating habits and such, well, then I am probably voting no.

Halloween has been bandied about for a long time. A gathering of spirits. (I do agree.) Heightened demonic. I agree again. But is it the culprit for a life lived in sin? I think not. It certainly has the potential to be. But I submit a person’s 364 other days is probably the reason.

Today, as believers we have the opportunity to turn back the darkness. (My workplace will be filled with participants in crazy costumes. Me-I will be me.) Give thought to that. Is it pamphlets and tracts? Or is it the love of God.