The Lord God gives a command to his people, “Be Holy, because I Am Holy,” as written in the Bible (Leviticus and 1 Peter). What does it mean to be holy? How do we define holiness in our lifestyle today?
The Bible is the story of God’s love for us through Jesus, and it’s filled with God’s instructions on how to live. As Christians, we follow Jesus, and we learn from His teachings and through His example. When asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Then, He added that the second greatest commandment is similar, which is to love your neighbor as yourself. These two commandments sum up how we are to live, in peace with God and in peace with one another, with Godly love being at the core.
In chapters 14 and 15 of the Gospel of John, Jesus says that if we love Him then we are to obey His commandments. He describes how, out of our love for Him, we are to follow what He commands. And thus, we will see peace and blessings in our lives. When we disobey Him, then we suffer consequences. We see evil take over and try to drown out the light of Christ. But, light shines in the darkness, and darkness cannot overcome it (John 1:5).
All throughout the Bible, we see the battle between good and evil. And, when we ourselves follow Jesus, we have His light in us, and we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, to guide us, and give us revelation and power to overcome evil. Good should have no part in evil, we should not partake of evil deeds and actions. Years ago, the Lord told me not to participate in Halloween at all, because it celebrates evil and makes it seem like evil is cool or fun. God has called us to be holy and we are set apart for His holy purpose. We should ask ourselves, if Jesus were alive today, would He decorate His home with evil symbols, or would He dress up like an evil character? Would He hand out tons of sugary candy to children and teach them to scare their neighbors?
Well, it’s not easy to avoid Halloween – in fact, it’s estimated that people in the U.S. will spend around $13 billion on this event in 2025. In recent years, even churches have created their own version of Halloween, calling it a harvest festival. I, too, gave in to this idea. But, God really convinced me several years ago that we are not to be conformed to the world, we are not to take an evil ritual and try to make it seem holy or okay. We should just skip it altogether. As Christians, we are to live as light, and not participate in the darkness of evil. We reap what we sow. If we are sowing into, or spending our time or money on something that highlights darkness and evil, then we will reap more darkness and evil in our lives, and in our society.
As we’ve prayed for healing for many people over the years, we’ve seen how what we watch, what we listen to, what we participate in actually affects our wellbeing, it affects our soul and spirit, as well as our body. Many who we have prayed for that are battling depression or anxiety have described how they have participated in some evil practice or tradition, or how they have taken part in something that is not of God, that is not holy. It’s amazing how we have seen people set free as we pray and break off the evil things from their past, and God replaces them with the light of Christ and peace of the Holy Spirit, as well as with God’s truth that they are loved and their life has a special purpose, a holy purpose.
I close with this admonition from the Scriptures, in 1 Thessalonians 5:22-23: “Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” May we all have a blessed and holy life, filled with the love and joy of the Lord.
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