I had multiple groups of trick-or-treaters come to my door tonight, even though we turned off the porch light. When I was growing up, that was an absolute sign that you weren’t participating in the events. Apparently, that memo got lost between the 1980s / 1990s and now.
When each group came, I opened the door and greeted them graciously. Then I told them that I wished them the best, but in this house, we do not celebrate Halloween. They all went away happy. Until the last group. In the last group, there was a kid who had the audacity to ask me why. “Why don’t you celebrate Halloween? It is the best day of the year!“
Those who know me best know that I was tempted to say something about why. The temptation was real. But those who know me even better than that know that even I have my limits. All I said was simply this: “Thank you for stopping by, but it is not my place to say anything more. Good night.”
And yet, I did say more to my kids’ teachers. At first, I tried to compliment them for refocusing Halloween on having the kids dress up as Saints. But then they quite innocently told me that the kids could dress up as whatever they wanted. One of their teachers told me that there would be a skeleton, at the request of the other kids.
That was enough for me. They stayed home from school today. I do not allow a single skull or skeleton in my house. I do not allow a single image of a demon or a devil in my house. So long as they are under my auspicesI will not allow my kids to participate in any celebration with a single skull or skeleton.
This determination goes back far before I asked you all for prayers. My son got sick in 2022. As far back as at least 2010, and even to childhood, I have objected to skulls and skeletons. Maybe it is because the Nazis all had a skull on their headgear in all the movies. Maybe it is just because I do not appreciate the glorification of death.
I am a Soldier, on my way out from being a Soldier, but I am still one. What I say is still current, at least until I am officially a veteran.
When I was up for Company Command, there were two Companies that I could have been assigned. One was Comanche, and the other was the Demons. This was 2010. I determined from the start that if I were assigned to the Demons, the first thing I would do would be to change the name. I WOULD NOT lead a company that glorified the enemies of the Lord. There would be a lot of backlash, but I didn’t care. I would not affiliate myself with Demons. If I were to pray to God for His protection, how could I dare be such a pushover as to glorify His enemies?
Fortunately, for the sake of unit cohesion, I was not assigned to the Demons. I was assigned to Comanche.
Later, I was assigned to the Devil Brigade. I wasn’t the leader, but still a part of it. We deployed to Kuwait and then Iraq. This was 2014, reopening the theater. It wasn’t a coincidence that this unit was the only unit in my career that I hated. I didn’t like their name, but I didn’t hate them because of their name. I hated the unit (not the Soldiers) because… well, that’s another story. But my soul was never at ease when assigned to that unit.
The point is this: I have had too many times when I have had to ask God for His Grace and Mercy and Protection and Healing to compromise on His Truth. I sin, but I WILL NOT glorify His enemies by any means, much less teaching my kids that it is okay to dress up as an enemy of God (witch, warlock, zombie, ghost, or whatever), or to be okay with that practice. That is not going to happen.
I begged for prayers when my son got ill. It would be a betrayal of all of those prayers to glorify the enemies of Christ because of cultural pressures or “fun.
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Joe, OUTSTANDING 30,000 ft view on the pagan “holiday” we are annually subjected to.
As a Believer you put to words what I (and many) think about the casual endorsement of evil. We have lived on a private road in 2 zip codes, and have had Trick or Treaters once in the last 20 years 🙂 And of course, thank you for your service 🙏🇺🇸
Thank you, sir.