Why me and Halloween don’t mix!

God commands His people to "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." Ephesians 5:11

I understand that for many millions of Americans, All Hallows Eve or Halloween, is a time of parties, candy and dressing up in costumes. And were that all it was, I would never utter a single complaint.

Oh wait one moment! Yes, I do have a complaint! I’ve long suspected that the whole deal has been pushed along by the mega corporations that make candy! They get rich off of the millions of bags of assorted Sweet Tarts and Snickers sold every year and have a vested interest in seeing the tradition maintained. Then too, the dentists are kept very busy by the aftermath of all those sweets on kid's enamel.

But that’s not what I’m really complaining about. What I’m concerned about is a condition that is becoming one of the fasting growing killers in our history; Diabetes. A disease that is becoming all too common and which even now may be helping to collapse our health care system here in America. As a nation, we are already in bed with sugar. Do we need to something like Halloween to give it an exclamation point!

Seriously, as parents, if you are going to launch your children on this horrific path by allowing them to gorge themselves on sweets, at least let them know what may be in store for them later on in life. (And, if you are really serious about a healthy lifestyle, why not keep your kids home and pass out apples or oranges instead? That is assuming you can afford them).

My other gripe about Halloween is the manner in which it has changed in meaning over the years, especially in recent decades where costumes have taken on increasingly darker meanings. I’m referring, of course, to the large upswing in the worship of witchcraft and all things vampire. While I’m sure that the vast majority of kids understand that this stuff is fake, there are some who end up embracing some of its darker and more sinister aspects. Also, there are the costumes coming out these days that are rather too racist for my tastes, thank you very much.  

The bottom line, I feel, is that we are entering a time where religion is coming under attack from many sources. In a recent poll, 64% of Americans felt this statement to be true. Do we need then, to continue a practice that in any way exonerates the devil, while at the same time helping to rot our kids teeth? I don’t know. You parents out there will have to make that call.