Treat or Trick?

We take a closer look at a LOT of different topics in these ThinkSpaces. This time let’s think about Halloween. We’re going to look from a different angle to see what else we can see from there.

Let’s start with a question. Should Halloween be celebrated? Here’s another one. Is there more to the story?

1 The Treats

When I grew up, back in the Stone Age, it was all about getting dressed up in a costume and going out for a walk with my parents and the neighborhood kids as it was turning dark – and free candy! After we got home, I’d sort out my haul into little piles by their different kinds. Did you? Over the week, my favorites were the first to go, starting with the chocolates. Then as the pile went down, the ones that were left were things like little sugar discs and powder-coated wafers with weird flavors. I threw most of those away. You probably did too.

Were any of those things “wrong?” No. It was innocent fun! But even back then, mingled with the innocent treats of Halloween were themes that weren’t innocent at all. If you’re the type to roll your eyes and think “Here we go! Another overreaction from Christians about nothing, trying to ruin the fun!” This time, take a deeper look and you’ll find a warning instead.

Overreaction? Or the beginning of a pattern of conditioning and becoming desensitized?

Even in more innocent times, Halloween included witches, mummies, monsters, and little children dressed up as the Devil by their parents with red horns and a tail. Over time, tolerance of these representations of – let’s call them what they are – darkness and evil, spread beyond one day a year. Children’s animated movies began including them, like the wicked witch in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that premiered back in 1937. There also was a wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz from 1939. In 1997, the Harry Potter book series and movies began with more witches, wizards and sorcery.  Now let’s flash forward. This year, a major animated movie with the word demon in it was released called ”K-Pop Demon Hunters” that follows a K-pop girl group who secretly battle demons while managing their pop idol careers. It won the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar in March 2026, plus the Critics Choice and Annie awards. The sequel is already in the works, slated for 2029. Do you see the progression?

Let’s think from a different angle here. Some of you reading this don’t believe in Hell or that the Devil and demons are real. Others are undecided. Either way, if what the Bible says is true – that they are real – how does the enemy gain ground in our lives, homes, and culture? By gradually infiltrating and breaking down barriers (as we’ve just read has happened) or through gates that are left open. If he can get us to take a first step, there’s a much better chance we’ll take a second… and a third… The younger we are, the more damage he can do, hoping to have a customer for life. His first approach isn’t with poison, it’s candy-coated.

2 The Tricks

What’s the next level? If you grew up in a family that watched or read “dark entertainment,” chances are you did too. Or, you may have been treated cruelly at some point in your life. If you find gore, horror, evil, dark fantasy, and murder entertaining, you need to become aware of the truth about the door you’re opening and who and what is on the other side. Jesus, God the Son, said this about the Devil:

“He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44b (NIV)

1 Peter 5:8 (NIV) warns us: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

If you, or your kids, watch Satanic, hellish horror movies and find pleasure in evil and cruelty, read these definitions, found in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Ask yourself if this is what you want to fill your mind, or the minds of your innocent children and teens with:

Horror. a: Painful and intense fear, dread, or dismay. b: intense aversion or repugnance. Synonyms for horror: Nightmare, agony, misery, torture, torment, murder, curse, hell, tragedy.

Evil. a: Morally reprehensible: sinful, wicked. The fact of suffering, misfortune, and wrongdoing. Something that brings sorrow, distress, or calamity. Synonyms: Harmful, dangerous, damaging, wrong, evilness, badness, sin.

Do these words make you uncomfortable? They should. If not, it’s time for some serious soul searching.

1 Corinthians 13:6 (NIV) says: “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”

1 John 4:8 (NIV) says: “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 

Don’t play around with trick bait. It’s more than it appears to be. Pray and ask God to show you the truth and His path that leads to Heaven. You can find it in His Word, beginning with John 3:16.*

RESET HIGHER: Where will you draw the line in your life and in your family? You can either keep fueling Satan’s agenda, or be one who chooses to stop the damage to yourself and the next generation. Take another look at Halloween this year and find an alternative that celebrates the harvest of God’s blessings in your life instead.

*“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (NIV)