So, I Like Candy
Hearing a few teens and children exclaim “this is the best house” was a big prize for me last Thursday night. My family has always welcomed trick-or-treaters on Halloween, but being the house with the best candy, the best item, or the coolest it factor has long been a goal of mine. But this year especially, I realized there are a few theological take aways and how I need to do better.
First, unlike salvation, of which there is plenty, and the experiences of God’s grace, which are countless, you can have too many choices. Many of the children and youth who approached my door last Thursday experienced a moment of huh, what? This isn’t meant as a brag (I’ll get to that later), just a statement of fact. Most mixed bags of candy come with 3-5 choices. Same with the boxes of full size. But, because I budget for and buy multiple full size boxes, I get one of each. Which results in lots of choices for candy. Too many. To be exact, there were twenty-nine different candy choices at my house. Plus, I had picked up a couple bags of the spider rings, eye-ball disc launchers, and fake bats, so there were also sixteen tricks to choose from. Choosing God over self is a lifelong journey of choice, but there are really only two choices. God or not God. For next Halloween, I need to be more like Christ and offer less choices. Though I don’t think I’ll get it down to two, I can still work to make sure what I am offering is something that people want.
On Halloween night, time is of the essence. There is a limited amount of time that anyone wants to spend choosing their candy. Theologically speaking, we have a whole lifetime to choose God, again and again. This does not translate to the thirty seconds or so that someone will want to spend trick-or-treating. I did also do a little bit of tracking on which candy went first. Apparently sour skittles are the best, but lots of children choose plain milk chocolate Hershey’s bars over the superior peanut buttery goodness of Reese’s (spot the opinion). According to a report from 2020, chocolate is still number one, but other reporting indicates that companies are shifting market strategies to push fruity and sour candies instead. Chocolate, with cocoa powder, is historically pricier than the sugar needed to make fruity treats. There may be a future where chocolate isn’t even a choice. Up until the moment of our deaths, we can still choose God. And a life with God is the best choice for me. I will have to brainstorm on this, but next year I will be more efficient so that people can make their choice and go within thirty seconds.
Next, God meets us where we are. I heard a few children exclaim “you have to read!” before running away and not even getting to the front of the line where I would have helped them. For some young children, I stepped back from the door frame and let them, under close parent supervision, step inside to choose. That worked great and I am saddened that any child went away without candy because they thought there was a barrier. God meets us where we are spiritually. I can sit on my front porch to hand out candy instead of hiding away inside. This also gives me a chance to help any who might be struggling. I think I may have even missed a few because they did not ring the bell or knock, just ran away when no person was immediately there.
Overall, I think it was a good Halloween. I had fun, passed out most, but not all of the candy I had purchased. Saw some familiar faces and had a good time.
However, there is one last lesson, and this is where my attitude of “I know guacamole is extra, so am I” gets others into a spot of trouble. In this instance, my generosity creates a spirit of competition. I want to be the best house, ergo, there must be inferior houses. By doing a little more, buying a little bigger, and generally being a little too excited about all this, I create an atmosphere not of peace, but anxiety. So this is an offer to my neighbors, that most won’t see, to instead of being in competition, we could all go extra in a different way. Halloween stamps on a “passport”? Games at each house (I’ll help you design and build them!). It doesn’t have to be about how much money we spend, we have time to do something amazing for next year together.
As a parting thought, just two observations. I saw several social media posts about letting teenagers trick-or-treat. That is amazing that it did not even occur to me it needed to be said in this community. People here know that the alternative isn’t some super cool Halloween party with bobbing for apples and dancing- it is often alcohol in a cow field. I am so glad to have older kids (and a few adults who I felt needed candy) come to the door. For me, there is no age limit, no costume requirement, and no need to even say trick-or-treat. Rats, that’s theological again, isn’t it? God’s love is for all, without barrier or exception. The other is that some children still have their innocence. I had one, just one, child come into my home, without an adult at the door watching. I did not let her in, she just walked right past me to pick her candy. I do not remember when I trusted so much in the world; to be frank, I’m not sure I ever did. And although I know I’m the kind of person who gets trusted a lot, with good reason, part of me wants to spoil it. To tell the children it’s not safe to do that kind of thing, even if I seem nice. On the other hand, if we do live to see God’s kingdom everywhere on earth, not just some times and some places, it might not be necessary to warn people about the selfishness, the harm, the evil done by people. Until then, we should trust in God even more than that child trusted that my house was safe. God is bigger than the boogeyman, whether it is Halloween or any day. Stay safe, my friends, and God go with you.
