It isn’t often that you come face to face with evil. I remember one time walking into a restaurant where a person at the bar had an aura of evil such that my hair stood up. The idea of ‘witch’ isn’t day to day for me but in that specific case my dread was so dark that witch seemed the obvious reason. In many years of life in customer service I’ve had only one or two other encounters that caused me to shudder and pray.
In this season of Halloween the topic of evil occurs more often than normal. I understand those that choose not to honor the day and the celebration. Since she was a baby I have celebrated Halloween with my daughter. Before the daughter I dressed up and went trick or treating on most years. I see the potential for evil yet see the fun in the dressing up, playing and eating candy.
The world is full of evil. Much evil that occurs isn’t obvious. The challenge as Christ followers and parents is walking in truth and turning from evil. It is a training of the conscience. Even King David succumbed to evil when he listened to Satan and numbered the troops in Israel. It creeps in subtly sometime.
Legalism creeps in easily. The conviction I’ve held is not to throw out the Baby Ruth with the bathwater. Most children that dress as witches have no understanding of evil beyond that of Maleficent. This will ever be a controversial issue. Holding fast to good and knowing Truth are I think the lines we need to draw. We are called to be in the world and not of it. In my house that means dressing up for Halloween. True evil wears a prettier face and sports a darker heart.
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