Yes, I have heard all about the wicked origins of Halloween. When I was in college my sophomore year, my best friend and I studied the origins of Halloween and decided not to celebrate it anymore. So while all of our suite mates were out celebrating Halloween every year, we would stay in our rooms or go out for dinner. Then when I married, for the first few years, we took the children to Disneyland or out to eat instead of celebrating Halloween. We were doing this because I was convicted about it, not Ken. As the children got older, they wanted to celebrate it so I let them. Then as I learned about submission and obeying my husband, I saw how wrong I was in this area of leading my family, instead of respecting Ken enough to follow his leading.
At the big Calvary church we attended for five years, our Pastor exhorted the congregation not to be those Christians who hid behind closed doors during Halloween but use this time to be light to a dark and decaying world. Use it for good as an opportunity to meet the neighbors, give them a friendly smile and a word of encouragement, if we could. He felt this would be much more productive for Christians rather than hiding behind closed doors.
Therefore, I believe the question I need to be asking women is not "Do you celebrate Halloween?" but "Does your husband want your children to celebrate Halloween?" since they are the head of the home! One woman asked me if a wife should obey if she believes something is evil and against God's ways. Yes, if it is abortion, murdering someone, robbing a bank, or watching pornography with him but not dressing up your children as cowboys and princesses and going from house to house saying "Trick-or-Treat." {From the last post I wrote about Halloween, I know many of you believe it is evil for a Christian to celebrate Halloween and I respect your view, but I don't intend for this post to be a discussion on the merits of Halloween. If you're undecided about celebrating Halloween, please go back to that post and read all the comments in the comment section. Thank you!}
You see, this can be a slippery slope for women. Many women believe they are more spiritual than men. There was one woman in the chat room who didn't believe her husband was a spiritual leader because he didn't hold family bible readings and prayers. I asked her if he worked hard, provided for the family, a man of integrity, faithful to her and loved her children. She answered "Yes!" to all of them and then I told her she was married to a spiritual leader. He was showing his children by his life and through his actions that he was a spiritual leader. Actions speak louder than words, many times. She was so happy and relieved that she told me she had tears streaming down her face.
Women can use the excuse to disobey their husbands over homeschooling, whether or not to have a family bed and/or spank the children, working outside of the home thus failing to be a "keeper at home" and many other areas if you teach them they can disobey their husband if they disagree with them on the grounds that something is wrong or evil, in their opinion. They are not allowing their husbands to lead their families and wives. The Bible commands women to win their "disobedient" husbands without a word by their godly behavior, NOT by going their own way and following their own convictions.
Therefore, if you are deeply convicted about Halloween or anything else, share your thoughts with your husband and then give him the freedom to decide what is best for your family. Follow him cheerfully and if you believe he is wrong, give it to the Lord in prayer and allow the Lord to convict and change his mind while you work on becoming a godly woman! If you are right and your husband is wrong, the Lord is very good about convicting him and often times, He will use a wife's godly behavior to be the vehicle which He uses to convict!
Finally, as Robyn, who has a blog of her own, in the chat room commented about this whole issue, "I handle Halloween the way I would handle any other subject that we disagree on. It is used as an opportunity to exercise submission. 1 Peter 3 calls us to precisely this kind of surrender so that God can step in and do the teaching as I humbly step back." Amen!
For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.
Finally, as Robyn, who has a blog of her own, in the chat room commented about this whole issue, "I handle Halloween the way I would handle any other subject that we disagree on. It is used as an opportunity to exercise submission. 1 Peter 3 calls us to precisely this kind of surrender so that God can step in and do the teaching as I humbly step back." Amen!
For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.
1 Peter 3:5, 6
***Yes, I know all of the evil roots of Halloween and as I said in my last post, I don't like anything about it but I like the idea from this article on the topic, for we know that greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world {1 John 4:4}.
To counter the evil influence of Halloween, we need to join together and celebrate the reality of the heroic efforts of Christian saints over the evil in their day. Many leaders in the past -- and present -- have fulfilled the mandate of destroying the works of the devil through their sacrificial commitment to Christ and His Kingdom.
Too, rather than “hide” in the face of evil, we should unabashedly and boldly create an alternative that is positive and uplifting; that celebrates good over evil and the triumph of God over Satan. We need to provide an environment that also makes room for heaps of fun while using the day as a “teachable moment” to celebrate God’s protection, provision and purpose for our lives.
***Yes, I know all of the evil roots of Halloween and as I said in my last post, I don't like anything about it but I like the idea from this article on the topic, for we know that greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world {1 John 4:4}.
To counter the evil influence of Halloween, we need to join together and celebrate the reality of the heroic efforts of Christian saints over the evil in their day. Many leaders in the past -- and present -- have fulfilled the mandate of destroying the works of the devil through their sacrificial commitment to Christ and His Kingdom.
Too, rather than “hide” in the face of evil, we should unabashedly and boldly create an alternative that is positive and uplifting; that celebrates good over evil and the triumph of God over Satan. We need to provide an environment that also makes room for heaps of fun while using the day as a “teachable moment” to celebrate God’s protection, provision and purpose for our lives.
