HALLOWEEN IS COMING—AND CHRISTIANS NEED TO STOP CALLING DARKNESS HARMLESS

Walk through almost any store during this time of year and really pay attention to what is being celebrated and normalized. Skulls, skeletons, witches, demons, devils, grim reapers, Ouija boards, fortune-telling imagery, evil-eye jewelry, occult symbols, and representations of death and darkness are everywhere—on clothing, jewelry, decorations, accessories, and even items marketed toward children. What Scripture tells us to be watchful of has increasingly been made cute, fashionable, funny, desirable, and entertaining.

People purchase these things, wear them, decorate their homes with them, dress themselves and their children in them, and participate without ever stopping to consider what they are becoming comfortable with spiritually.

As Christians, our question cannot simply be, “Is it harmless fun?” Our question needs to be, “What does God say about it?”

Ephesians 5:11 tells us, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” God does not tell His children to become comfortable with darkness simply because culture has normalized it. He tells us not to fellowship with it.

Scripture is very clear concerning occult practices. Deuteronomy 18:9–14 warns against divination, interpreting omens, sorcery, witchcraft, mediums, spiritists, and calling up the dead. Yet many of the very things Scripture warns about have been repackaged as entertainment, games, costumes, decorations, jewelry, and trends.

The packaging may have changed, but God’s Word has not.

This is also where Christians need to understand that what we willingly participate in can have spiritual consequences.

Ephesians 4:27 gives a short but powerful warning: “nor give place to the devil.”

There is a reason Scripture tells us not to give the enemy a place. When we knowingly come into agreement with darkness, participate in occult practices, entertain what God has forbidden, or continue in areas of disobedience, we can give the enemy an opportunity to gain ground where he should never have been given room.

This is what people mean when they speak about opening spiritual doors. You do not have to consciously say, “I choose Satan,” before you can make an unwise spiritual agreement. Scripture repeatedly warns God’s people about what they participate in, whom they come into agreement with, and what they give place to.

That is why intentions alone cannot be our standard.

“I didn’t mean anything by it” does not turn something God has forbidden into something spiritually beneficial.

First Peter 5:8 tells us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

The enemy does not always need darkness to appear frightening. If darkness can be made attractive, funny, fashionable, entertaining, or innocent-looking, people can gradually become comfortable with things they once would have recognized and rejected.

This also reaches much further than what we put inside our homes. We need to guard what we allow into our minds.

That instruction should cause us to examine what we willingly place before our eyes and allow to occupy our thoughts. If God tells us in Philippians 4:8 to keep our minds on what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of good report, then we cannot ignore the contradiction of deliberately filling our minds with imagery and entertainment centered around witchcraft, demons, fear, death, and the occult.

What we repeatedly expose ourselves to can become familiar, and what becomes familiar can eventually become normalized. The enemy does not need someone to openly worship him in order to gain ground; compromise, curiosity, agreement, and participation in things God has warned against can become an entry point. This is why Scripture tells us, “nor give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27 NKJV).

This is especially important concerning our children. They may see nothing more than candy, costumes, decorations, and fun with their friends. They do not understand the spiritual significance behind witchcraft, divination, demons, or occult symbolism. Parents therefore have a responsibility to discern what their children are being introduced to and what they are being taught to consider harmless. When witches become cute, demons become costumes, occult practices become games, and darkness becomes entertainment, children can become familiar with things Scripture teaches God’s people to reject.

The evil eye is one example. It has become common in jewelry, clothing, accessories, and decorations and has historically been associated in various cultures with protection against the “evil eye,” harm, or misfortune. A Christian should not look to a charm, amulet, symbol, crystal, or object for spiritual protection. Our trust belongs to God.

Psalm 18:2 declares, “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

None of this means believers should become fearful or superstitious about every object around them. Jesus Christ is Lord. Colossians 2:15 tells us that He disarmed principalities and powers and triumphed over them. Our position is therefore one of both authority and obedience. We do not fear darkness, but neither do we knowingly fellowship with it. We do not fear the enemy, but neither do we give him place.

If the Holy Spirit brings conviction about past involvement in occult practices or something you believe God is calling you to leave behind, respond with repentance and submission to Christ rather than fear. Renounce your participation, remove anything you were intentionally using for occult or spiritual purposes, and close areas of compromise by bringing them under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

James 4:7 gives us the order plainly: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Submission comes before resistance.

Our minds belong to Jesus. Our bodies belong to Jesus. Our homes should honor Jesus, and our children have been entrusted to our care. What we willingly welcome, celebrate, meditate upon, and participate in matters.

Halloween does not make darkness harmless simply because our culture calls it fun.

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal anything you have treated casually that He wants you to take seriously. Search the Scriptures, examine what you are allowing, and when God convicts you, obey Him.

We have been called “out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9 NKJV). Let our homes reflect that light, our minds remain fixed on what is pure, and our children be taught to discern the difference between light and darkness.

“As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” — Joshua 24:15 NKJV