Should You Keep Your Porch Light on for Halloween?

At long last, fall finally made it. The brutal summer heat has surrendered to cool mornings, pumpkin spice everything, and another bummer season for Cowboys fans. As a runner and morning person, I love the crisp fall mornings.

With the coming of fall comes Halloween, and with the coming of Halloween comes varying convictions on what we, as Christ-followers, should do about it. Perspectives range on a continuum from total avoidance and condemnation to total acceptance and celebration. Some people side-eye people with differing opinions, thinking they’re either prudes for rejecting Halloween or demonic for engaging in festivities.

So let’s just consider what the Bible has to say.

Ephesians 5:8-16 says we should walk as children of light and expose unfruitful works of darkness. Clearly we cannot be champions of evil. We cannot celebrate death, demons, promiscuity, or any manner of sin.

Romans 14:1-8 addresses the differing convictions on eating food sacrificed to idols, which is actually quite applicable to Halloween. Paul commends unity and charity within the church, and rejects judging others who may choose a different path. And he says something really important in V5-8: whatever you choose, do it to honor the Lord. Abstain or eat to — and for — the glory of God.

Okay, so where does that leave us? Let me offer 3 things to think about:

1. Without being spineless, we must be charitable in our choice. We must be known for what we’re for, not against. Don’t be the judgy Christian; Jesus said not to (Matthew 7). You can hold convictions without casting judgment. I know this is foreign to our culture which celebrates dogmatism and denigrates nuance, but part of following Jesus is knowing what hills to die on. 

2. We must remember that Jesus has victory over evil, and has conquered death — and therefore we need not fear. If you walk by your neighbor’s haunted house, demons aren’t going to hop into your chest. If you’re a Christ-follower, you’re not only saved — you’re kept. The Spirit protects and leads you. And while I don’t think it’s wise to go through haunted houses, if you do you should bore the fake monsters with your lack of fright because death and demons have no hold on you — especially fake ones.

3. We must remember we’re ambassadors for Christ, and move toward our neighbors. Many neighborhoods use Halloween as an excuse to throw a giant party, complete with loud music and copious amounts of booze. Instead of being judgy or repulsed by such festivities (and posting on your neighborhood Facebook page about how loud the music is), what if you walked over there and asked someone’s name? Jesus was accused of being a drunk for hanging out at parties like this because He loved the people enough to move toward them.

This is a side note, but ignore your social media feed which will likely lead you to think more of what you already think. It’s called confirmation bias. If you’re an abstainer, the algorithm will likely make you more staunch. If you’re one who seeks to redeem Halloween, same deal. Put down your phone, open your Bible, and ask the Lord for some clarity as to how you might represent Him well this Halloween.

Walking as children of light naturally means we will push back darkness, because that’s just what light does. Eugene Peterson once called Christians subversive, because we are, by our mere presence as Christ-followers, undermining the kingdom of this world by representing the Kingdom of Christ.

It’s your call, and I don’t speak for all of the elders of TDC here, but I’d leave the porch light on. Get the best candy ever, meet some neighbors, and be a harbor of Christ’s light.