In Christian Ethics Does the "Why" Matter More than the "What"

Today is Halloween. I dislike Halloween. The commercial version that is on TV or the movies is not enjoyable to me. The scary, creepy, and spooky are not my choices for entertainment. I will be glad when tomorrow comes around and that theme of entertainment has passed on again.

Halloween in general was never a big deal at my house growing up. I do remember going out trick or treating once with some neighbors but that was not the norm. Typically, my mom and dad and I would go out for dinner and that would be the one night that dad would go to a movie with us. When we got home and since we did not have any candy, we would turn off the front lights and be in a back room. It was always the “Devils’s holiday” and we did not want to participate. Over the years, my view has changed and I now see that it is a great day to show community and be a presence for God this this dark night.

To my surprise, Dr. Russell Moore, former faculty at SBTS and current head of the ERLC of the SBC (that is enough acronyms), put in his new book the fact that he loves Halloween. The reason I was surprised needs some background information. While I agree with much of what he writes and stands for, there has been one item that I have always thought differently than him. He has written against the practice of cremation and said that it does not point to the hope of Christ’s return. His argument has never convinced me. Without getting into the particular arguments, I would have thought since he was against cremation, he would be against Halloween also.

So it was a surprise when I read his excerpt saying that Halloween was his favorite holiday. I was curious how, when he says that cremation cannot be redeemed, Halloween can be. His explanation was telling and shows what the Christian life is all about. To him, Halloween expresses the true nature of reality. There are invisible forces in the world as told in the Bible and those are "celebrated" once a year openly. There are times when we should be scared because evil is real. However, just like having an adult with you to protect you from the scary stuff outside and then going home and being safe inside your house, we can be safe from evil and the bad invisible forces when we are in the presence of our heavenly Father.

Whether you agree with that argument or not, I found it informative that he considers how his life, including how he treats Halloween, will “preach” the Gospel and point people to the hope we have in Christ. As Christians, we tend to just see actions. We tend to be legalistic about drinking, movies, daily devotions, music, etc. i.e. good Christians would not do this or that. We are more about doing the right things rather than being the right person and being the right person involves bringing all of our actions in line with our faith (1 Cor 10:31). I am not saying that what we do does not matter. It does. There are things that are off limits for Christians. On the other hand, the reason those things are off limits speak to what it means to be a Christian. It shows that being a Christian does and change things.

While there is a danger of justifying wrong actions, using unbiblical ideas, and giving the Sunday School reasons, I believe most Christians are committing the opposite mistake of not even considering why they do what they do. How much have you considered why you do the things you do? How do your everyday activities reflect your relationship with God?