There was one more realization I experienced as I worship walked past so many of the homes in our neighborhood decorated for Halloween. It was not just about “Darkness versus Light” and “Death versus Life,” there was a third truth that came to mind.
The Third: Ugly versus Beautiful: I walked past gruesome masks, skeletons, witches with hideous faces, bloody heads dangling from porches. I saw not one thing of beauty connected to this holiday. And if that weren’t enough, the videos and movies that are promoted during this time are also repulsive.
Our focus, as believers, is never to be on the ugliness or viciousness that comes with this holiday (or even with this life). Paul was clear when he said that we are to always seek “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.” [Phil 4:8]
I get enough ugliness with the world news; I don’t need to be reminded of it by decorating my house in it. Instead I take joy in the beauty of God’s creation, the skies, the ocean, the mountains. I take delight in the flowers that bloom, in the joy on the face of a child, in the bountiful harvests that come in the autumn. I take comfort in the Words of God’s promises I find in my Bible. Those are the things on which I dwell.
I find myself praying with the psalmist, “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” [Ps 27:4]
I want a head start gazing upon the beauty of the LORD. I want to dwell in His presence all the days of my life. I want to spend my time seeking Him in His temple instead of wasting it on an unpleasant holiday.
