What is Gray? What is Black? What is White? What is Light?

Hang with me for a bit ... I'm talking something out, but I'm opening it up for a peaceful, respectful, and Christ-like discussion at the end. Please don't think that I'm pointing a finger to any one person in particular, because I'm not. I'm just talking this out with you, instead of inside my head (because it's not as scary that way). And yes, it's another heavy-duty post. Sorry about that!

Last week, I posted on a pretty controversial issue, and it was difficult for me to hit the "Publish Post" button (and just to answer one person's question, yes, I did trick-or-treat -- until my family all became Christians, and then I stopped trick-or-treating when I understood the true meaning of the holiday).

You see, I am such a people pleaser. I want everyone to love, love, love me, and I want to love everyone in return. I hate arguments, I hate dissension, I hate disagreement. That's why I was so pleased to see very respectful and mature, well-thought-out comments.

But mostly, I hate having to deal with Gray Issues. I would much rather deal with a black issue, or a white issue as my friend Molly says. That way, it's clear. No questions. But sadly, that's not real life. That's probably why I get along so well with my sister-in-law, my friend Molly, and several other of my real-time friends -- because they are so much like me! People-pleasing-why-cant-it-be-black-or-white-and-cant-we-all-get-along people. Why, oh, why, oh why?

Speaking of which, I encourage you to go to Molly's place and read THIS post, because it is so right on!

Anyway, many people lovingly commented on that scary post of mine. Some agreed. Some didn't. And that's okay. I'm not trying to force anyone to believe the same way I do, as I acknowledge that we all have different levels of understanding and spiritual maturity, and I am far, far, FAR from being the sound and completely spiritually mature compass that all should follow! But it did bring to light many questions, and I wanted to toss a few things around and then open it up for discussion to see how YOU feel... without being judged by me, and without anyone else being judgmental, and without cruelty, please. We are all allowed to have and form our own opinions.

When I look back in scripture, I don't see that Christ was a people pleaser. I can't find where he lounged around in "gray areas." He didn't say, "come to me all you who thirst, and I will give you living waters ... if it's okay with you." He also didn't say, "go and sin no more ... if you can find it easy to do." Life would be so much easier if it were all black and white... "I came that you might have life, not death." There. Black and white. Easy, right? Jesus came. If we believe in him, we have life. If we don't, we have death. I can dig it. Love your neighbor as your self. Another black and white moment. Done. I get it. Clear as crystal.

Yes, Jesus ate with sinners, yes, he hung out with the lepers and the unclean. Yes, he hugged you even if your feet were dirty, your hair was greasy, and you were clothed like a beggar -- placing you far from perfection. Granted, he didn't stand outside of a sinner's home and holler in to them to come out and see the light for themselves, either. He walked right in and sat down at the table of the unrepentant without trying to convert them first, and showed them the true light. But he did not just eat with them, show them what a nice guy he was, and then leave ... Rather, he was very clear with them ... "repent - the kingdom of God is near."

And while he did sit down and eat with the sinners, or talk with the unclean, it leaves me questioning a few things: did he participate with pagan celebrations, services and ceremonies? Did he hang out at the local Roman temple and enjoy the fun highlights of their holidays? Did he go to the local gladiator's brawl to hang out with the decadent Romans looking for opportunities to witness? Did he go to the taverns (of those times, so to speak) looking for opportunities to teach his disciples how to avoid those temptations, and yet, how they can use those areas as places of outreach?

See what I mean? Gray areas. Lots of gray areas. Questions. Lots of questions.

Furthermore, Jesus was not always a gentle, quiet, calm man. He caused disturbances. He was constantly challenging the authority of the spiritual leaders of the day, and "bucking" old testament law. In fact, according to old testament law, when he ate with the "unclean" or the "sinners" -- it would make him unclean. But rather, we saw that Jesus flipped the old testament law, and instead of becoming unclean, he made the sinner clean.

I love that Jesus said, "I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." This made him unpopular with the authorities and religious leaders ... and this very statement makes my job as a Christian very clear. But, I can also see clearly that as Christians, we need to be very careful of what we seek, choose, and accept as light, or "okay." With so many choices and options in front of us, is it possible that sometimes we fail to see that many of them may sometimes be nothing more than Satan's misleading shadows?

Intellectually, I know that celebrating halloween in and of itself will not make a child evil. But I feel like I'm opening a door to my child's mind and heart towards making light of the pagan aspect of the celebrations, while showing him the example that it is acceptable to live of the world, rather than to live in the world. It starts with Halloween, but where does it end? In my small and slowly maturing mind, I am starting to realize that it's not about whether a child dresses up as an evil spirit, a monster, a witch, or an innocent bunny, Raggedy Ann, or Dora the Explorer. It's not about family fun in collecting halloween candy from other houses. Those are not things that will turn your child to all things evil.

Rather, it's about the acceptance of something rooted deeper than family celebrations, and yes, it may be true what one commenter said, that "Halloween didn't hurt ...[people]... the modern day Pharisees did," but I guess what I'm trying to work through is ... where do we as Christians draw the line to stand against things that the world finds acceptable? Is something like Halloween pleasing in God's eyes? Or is his heart saddened by how people choose to "celebrate" it? Wouldn't attending a fall harvest festival sponsored by a church be a better option as encouraging a family function than going door to door trick-or-treating for halloween?

By far ... know that I'm not saying that we should alienate ourselves from the world, but rather, we should be a light to this world. And yes, I feel that we should take every opportunity we can to witness to our friends and neighbors -- in fact, we have been given a direct mission as Christians to invite others to know, love and accept as well as emulate the life of Jesus. But sadly, we do live in a fallen world, where we are surrounded with values that are different than the values we find in the Bible, and Christian values we have been taught, and try to teach our kids. We have to live, work, and raise our children in a culture that is uncertain, at best, and rapidly deteriorating, and I honestly feel that it is critical that we maintain level-headedness and that we are careful of our surroundings if our mission in such an environment is to succeed.

Again, to me, it's not about not wearing scary costumes or not doing scary things. In my mind, it's a given that as a Christian, you would discourage your child from doing those things. To me, it almost feels like I'm not standing out as being any different as a Christian if I am partaking in the same thing the "fallen world" is partaking in. In other words, I'm not being a bright light to this world, but rather, blending in.

You know how I think this works? Sort of like sin ... very, very subtly. As Christians, obviously, we don't condone or accept sinful things like deceit, theft, pornography, etc. We don't set out to rob a bank, or become addicted to pornography, and while there are people out there that do, as Christians, we love the sinner, hate the sin. Right?

But, when we open our heart to a little tiny bit of sin by turning our heads and accepting something for what we want it to be, rather than the face value of what it really is (like adult movies and raunchy books), then it becomes easier and easier to accept other sin without realizing that we are doing it. Why? Because we have begun to neutralize our hearts and minds. Kind of like that little yellow container of Arm and Hammer baking soda does in my refrigerator. It neutralizes the odor, and I become immune to it, and instead of seeking out what is causing the odor and removing it from my refrigerator, I simply open the door, get out what I need, close the door, and go on with life. I'm not saying that celebrating Halloween is sinful. I'm simply comparing how our heart can become easily neutralized the more we accept something that might at first cause us to question it. Fortunately, we have the Holy Spirit on our side, and it is the Spirit that prompts us through our conscience, and it is the Spirit's involvement that unifies all of our activities so that they lead, and here's the key... to the glory of God.

I don't consider myself a bold person. Nor, do I have all the right answers... I am just trying to do the best I can to raise my child to be as wise as serpents, yet gentle as doves in this fallen world without pulling a veil over his eyes and blindly living life in lala land, completely protected from everything around us, which I can also see as being a really easy thing for me to do. Godly balance is what I'm looking for.

Whew! Now, all I have to say is... and I'm sure this will open a whole new can of worms, but... thank goodness my husband is the spiritual head of our household, because my head really hurts right about now!

So, what are your thoughts? Take some time to digest it all. You can comment on the whole thing, or pick and choose. I'm curious to know how other Christians feel.