Supernatural peace of mind

Do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

Soon it will be Halloween again. Halloween has become the second most popular holiday in America, outdistanced only by Christmas. Each year, huge amounts of money are spent on decorations, costumes and parties. People line up for haunted houses and creepy movies in order to be scared. Children go from door to door, hoping that a great costume will result in a bag full of sweets.

Where did this holiday come from? Why are people fascinated with ghosts and monsters? What does Halloween teach us about ourselves? And what does God have to say about these things?

Halloween had its roots in Great Britain. A long time ago, October 31st was the official end of harvest season and the beginning of winter. People believed that on this day it was easier for supernatural beings to cross over into our world. Huge bonfires were lit to frighten away evil spirits, and families worried that the ghosts of departed relatives would come knocking on their doors. It was a night for speaking with the dead and trying to please the forces of evil so that you would be left in peace. Although the people of Great Britain eventually converted to Christianity, some of these ancient traditions survived; they were brought to America by immigrants in the 1800s, and grew into the Halloween that we celebrate today.

One aspect of Halloween tradition has to do with monsters. Centuries ago, Britons feared hobgoblins, fairies and demons. In our day, the list of monsters has grown to include werewolves and mad slashers. But why are we fascinated by such monsters? I think it is because monsters help us to face something truly terrifying—the evil that is within every human being. Consider just a few examples. Dr. Jekyll feared the evil within himself, and tried to get rid of it by drinking a potion—what came out of him as a result was the terrifying Mr. Hyde. A werewolf is a person who looks ordinary in the daylight, but has a ferocious animal lurking inside just waiting to escape. The Phantom of the Opera was a musical genius whose dark obsessions could result in psychotic behavior. When we look at these kinds of monsters, we see in them the same darkness that each of us tries to hide from others.

What makes monsters scary is that they are sin personified. Each of us is a sinner; each of us harbors terrible darkness deep inside, darkness that we are ashamed of, darkness that would drive away all our friends and loved ones if they saw it. In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 15, Jesus described the darkness that festers in our hearts: evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual misconduct, theft, lying, and slander. And try as we might, we cannot keep this darkness bottled up inside. Frequently it bubbles out—in times of stress, during peaceful moments when we let our guard down, when we get drunk or are exhausted from a long and difficult day at work. At times like these, the blackness in our hearts shows itself through our words and deeds—we act like monsters. Paul describes our monstrous behavior in Galatians chapter five: sexual misconduct, impurity, lustful pleasures, worshipping false gods, practicing magic, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, stubbornness, taking sides, jealousy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Monsters fascinate us, even while they are scaring us. In monsters, we see the evil that we are capable of. When the sun rises on November 1st, we can put the monsters away. Scary costumes and decorations go into a box, creepy movies and books go back on the shelf. But the monster inside each of us still remains, eager to slip out and cause all kinds of pain and grief. The evil in our hearts is with us every day throughout the year—whenever we look in a mirror, that monster looks back at us. Thankfully, we have Jesus in our lives. The Son of God has no monster inside His heart; instead, it is filled with love and mercy and a hatred for evil. He went to extraordinary lengths to free us from the monster of sin; He came down from His glorious home in heaven to live with us, surrounded by our sin. He taught us about love. He demonstrated unearthly patience as He dealt with us. And then He took our sins with Him to the cross, where they were staked by His nails, washed away by His blood, and buried in His grave. If you want freedom from the monster within you, kneel at the cross of Jesus—only He can give you relief that you crave.

Another Halloween tradition has to do with playing dress-up and pretending to be someone else. People who are shy sometimes dress up in flamboyant costumes and pretend to be confident or sexually adventurous. Others dress up like vampires or pirates, characters that take what they want and ignore societies’ rules. And some dress like doctors or astronauts or some other profession that represents a path not taken.

Halloween gives people of all ages permission to play dress up and not feel silly. We like to pretend, because we all have some dissatisfaction with our lives. We wonder what life would have been like if we had chosen a different major in college, if we had married our childhood sweetheart, if we had just taken that chance instead of letting it pass us by. We wish that we were more outgoing, more charming, more sure of ourselves. Sometimes we fantasize about breaking the rules and doing whatever we want, regardless of what other people might think. Halloween dress up gives us a chance to be someone else for a night.

Because we are sinners, it is natural to feel inadequate. Our lives are filled with regrets over past mistakes and missed opportunities. Because we live in an imperfect world, wealth and opportunity are not distributed equally; it is easy to be jealous of what other people have. It is frustrating to have to play the hand you’re dealt; many times we would like to rewrite the rules in our favor or ignore them altogether.

Jesus asks us to trust Him. Each of us was designed by God and placed into the world to serve Him, as Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter two: we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. You have no reason to feel inadequate—God put you on this earth to serve Him, and He has given you the skills needed to do the work He has for you. You don’t need to be jealous of what other people have; Jesus tells you to trust in God and that will be enough: do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' For the unbelievers chase after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:31-33). If you trust in Jesus to give you what is needed, you won’t be drawn to fantasies of power and rule breaking.

A third aspect of Halloween celebrations has to do with death. Dr. Frankenstein assembled his monster from the pieces of many corpses. Zombies and vampires are dead people who need to feed on the living for continued existence. Mummies and ghosts are the remains of deceased individuals who could not find peace while lying in the grave.

We are instinctively afraid of death. Death is the great thief—it steals our loved ones from us. Death is the bringer of torment—before death claims its victims, most of them suffer first—suffer from memory loss, weakness, or chronic pain. Death is the ultimate question mark—what happens to us when we die? Where do we go? What will happen to us? Will we find peace and relaxation, or pain and regret? Or will we cease to exist altogether? We want to live. We want to be happy. Death is everything we seek to avoid; as such, it terrifies us.

Death was never part of God’s design for human life; He intended that we live forever. Death came into our lives as a result of sin, the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Because of sin, death became necessary; without the release of death, people would be trapped in sin forever. But death can only free us if we die in Christ. He died to rescue us from sin, then rose from the grave as the guarantee of new life for all who believe in Him. Jesus has tamed death; He has forced the great enemy of life to serve us by becoming the door through which we can leave this sinful life for eternal happiness in heaven.

There is one other aspect of Halloween we have not touched on yet—mysticism. It comes in many different flavors: witchcraft, black magic, astrology, fortune telling, psychic readings. What they all have in common is this: they offer you influence over things that are beyond your power to control. Much of the time, we feel like helpless victims. You can’t force rain to fall on a crop that is withering from drought. You can’t force the guy you love to dump his girlfriend and give his heart to you. You can’t apologize to someone after they have died. And sometimes no medical treatment will make your terminal illness go away.

Mysticism offers a solution. Maybe a deal can be struck with some powerful supernatural being; in return for service or an offering, it will save your crops by sending rain. Maybe you can use the unseen power of nature to influence another person’s mind and make them love you. There are plenty of people who claim that they can speak with the dead; maybe, with their help, you can find closure for an old hurt that has never healed. Some believe that the human mind is filled with healing energy; maybe if you focus hard enough, you can cure your body by sheer willpower alone.

But the hope offered by mysticism is a false, misleading hope. God is the Creator of the universe and the King of all that is; no supernatural being or power can rival his absolute power and authority. There is no point in making deals with Satan; God threw him out of heaven ages ago. Besides, the devil is a liar; his sole desire is to drive a permanent wedge between you and God, a wedge that will cut off access to heaven and leave you with nothing but eternal sorrow in hell. Far better to ask God for help with life’s problems; He loves you and has the power to make things better. Magic is for people who don’t want to depend on God; magic promises that you can bend other people to your will through casting spells. But even if such a thing were possible, manipulating another person for personal gain is completely selfish. God’s ways are better; God is love, and He teaches us that healthy relationships are based on mutual love and respect. Some people miss the dearly departed so badly that they would give anything to speak with them again. But trying to speak with the dead is not the answer; Jesus assures us that every sin we’ve committed can be forgiven if we just ask Him; we don’t have to live with regrets. Jesus also gives hope to the lonely. He promises that all believers will be reunited in paradise; we just need to be patient and faithful as we wait for that glorious day. The bottom line is this: we don’t need to fear death, not when we believe in the Son of God who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Halloween is popular because it allows us to look at our weaknesses, our mistakes, and our fears with some degree of comfort, since these awful truths are dressed up in holiday traditions. On the one hand, it is good that we take time to think about these things—about evil behavior, death, and the supernatural forces of darkness. But looking at such things without then turning to Jesus is pointless—only He can rescue us from sin, death and hell. Only He can give our lives meaning and make us happy forever. Halloween shows us our fears and then points us in the wrong direction for solutions. Only Christ can ease your fears and give your mind what it truly needs—the comfort of spiritual peace.