Jesus chose you to belong to Him and be a light in the world rather than just live like the world. It is awesome to realize that before the foundation of the world, (Ephesians 1:4) He chose you and already had a masterful plan for your life. However, in the midst of this great calling, Jesus makes it clear that "the world" is the opposite of His truth and that you will experience some of the same consequences He faced in coming to the earth.
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. (John 15:18-19) We need to understand the absolute polar extremes of following Jesus and of living like the world.
This complete difference between the Kingdom of God and the sin-fallen world causes godly believers to make practical choices. For the past 30 years I have given a chapel talk to our students entitled, "Don't Drink Dirty Milk," and of course, to make a point I pour dirt into a glass of milk and tempt them to drink it. The point is that Halloween may seem like fun, and there is candy to be had, but it is foundationally a celebration of Satan: fear, death, demons, evil, anything to arouse the dark side and scare people. We challenge our kids to choose a godly alternative and avoid the world's way of participating in glorifying the Evil One.
However, the warning from 2 Corinthians 6 is much stronger and more comprehensive than just Halloween. "For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people." Therefore, "Come out from among them and be separate," says the Lord. "Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you." "I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters," says the Lord Almighty.
Notice how God always has our best interests in mind even in this warning, wanting us to experience His intimate fatherly love rather than the fleeting and deceiving pleasures that the world offers. God's Word clearly calls each of us to keep ourselves clean from the ways of the world and let the love of the Father fill you and guide all that you watch, think, or participate in. Even though it may look inviting, touch nothing unclean.
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