All Saints’ Day and Halloween
“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” II Corinthians 9:7
All Saints’ Day is observed on November 1, mostly by certain churches to commemorate the lives of all saints who have passed away and to ask God to intercede for them. The Bible does not teach that we should ask intercession for those who have died. Whatever status they had at the time of death, whether saved or unsaved, is how all people will face eternity. We are encouraged to come boldly before the throne of God’s grace to request from Jesus, our Lord and Savior, to make intercession for those who are still living whether for their salvation, illness, or other troubles. All Saints’ Day is also called Allhallows. Halloween, Hallows Eve, the evening before Allhallows, emphasized that dark forces were working in order to hinder these prayers for the dead. Trick or treating began in the Middle Ages when the poor would go door to door begging food in exchange for praying for the dead (GotQuestions.org).
I remember when I was a child in the 4th or 5th grade and finished trick or treating in my neighborhood. It was relatively safe back then. We didn’t have to be accompanied by adults. My mother always enjoyed giving things away. She was a “cheerful giver” as Paul described in the above verse. I didn’t understand her delight in giving away personal items, but now I can appreciate the ability to part with things so that I can designate gifts to certain individuals. Of course, I don’t have that much that anyone would desire. When I am gone, most of my stuff will likely end up in a dumpster. After all, these are only things, and it’s not the things we leave behind, but rather it is our legacy that hopefully will leave a positive and godly impact upon others. One can only hope.
My mother had been handing out the candy to the trick or treaters, and one of the boys in my class at school came by our house. My mother had carved a jack-o-lantern and put it on the front step of our home. My classmate made a favorable comment on the jack-o-lantern, and my mother asked if he would like to take it with him. Well, that was my jack-o-lantern, and I didn’t want to part with it, but she was the one who carved it and thus she could do what she wanted with it. He said he wanted it and took it with him. My mother was pleased to make him happy, but I wasn’t happy.
The next day at school, I asked him about the jack-o-lantern. To my surprise and upset, he said, “I threw it down on the sidewalk, and it burst into a thousand pieces!” He said it like it gave him a great joy to destroy it. Imagine how I felt. He took this pumpkin that my mother meticulously carved for me, and he ruined it. (And “they” try to tell us that there is no difference in boys and girls!) I don’t remember if I told my mother what he did with her jack-o-lantern. If I did, she didn’t make a big deal about it, although she may have regretted giving it to him. I know that I did. To me, he was carrying out the dark side of Halloween.
Not everyone will appreciate the efforts we make to help them out with our money, our time, or our talents, but that is no reason to stop giving. We can’t force people to use our gifts for the purpose the gifts are given. However, when we give as the Lord directs, we have been obedient. The recipients are responsible for how they use our gifts and will be held accountable. We just have to be discerning.
Halloween is shunned by many believers for its dark overtones, but celebrated by many folks, believers and unbelievers, as a fun day for children to dress up in costumes, go to parties, and go trick-or-treating. Most people either don’t understand or choose to ignore that Halloween is basically a celebration of evil. It has become one of the biggest and financially profitable holidays of the year, probably only second to Christmas. Several years ago, evil people were putting razor blades in the fruit and candy that they handed out to children. This year there is a fear that the deadly drug fentanyl disguised as colorful candy like Skittles will be handed out, thus parents are advised to check the candy that their children bring home very closely. Evil people will use whatever means available to do their evil deeds. We can only pray that no children are harmed by candy or hit by cars as they walk about the neighborhoods after dark. However, believers can also use this time to share the love of God by telling the children that Jesus loves them as we drop the candy into their sacks. We can make an effort to turn an evil celebration into one that honors God. After all, how many times in a year do we have such a large mission field come right to our door?