Jay’s Thoughts About Halloween
Dr. Kathy Koch on November 2nd, 2008 | Filed under Holidays
Jay S. submitted a comment stimulated by the writings about Halloween. His thoughts are worth reading and thinking about…
Some additional thoughts:
WE *ARE* DIFFERENT. It’s important to teach our children that we do some things differently because of our relationship with God; and that we even do some things differently from other Christians, because of our understanding of God’s word and how to apply it in our lives.
Children can learn that being different is not bad, though it sometimes may be uncomfortable. They can learn, little by little, not to take their identity from being like other people but from being a follower of God.
BALANCE. The trick is to teach all that while simultaneously teaching them to not condemn, ostracize, or fear others for their choices, good or bad. Teaching a balanced approach to being different is hard, perhaps especially in areas (like Halloween observance, believing in Santa Clause, etc.) where there is a wide range of approaches among serious, thinking Christians, not to mention in the culture at large, and sometimes no Biblical teaching directly addressing the issue. I think success in teaching this comes mainly through adults modeling respect for others who make different, even objectively bad, choices.
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