My husband and I live in a relatively new community filled with young families, sprinkled with college students, and topped off by a sassy group of seniors. It’s an eclectic blend of ages and nationalities that makes for a sweet and supportive neighborhood.
As fall slips in, our little community comes alive. Houses start taking on festive decor, and from now until the end of the year, the scenery shifts as the holidays come and go.
Halloween is on the calendar now, and homes are adorned with 20-foot skeletons, life-size pirates, house-swallowing spider webs, and more pumpkins than I thought possible to pile on a porch. Some homes are covered in minions, while others have turned their yards into elaborate graveyards, including some exposed body parts just to make it a little creepier.
But there is one house that has outdone all the others. They have taken the creepy to a whole new level, causing this senior a little angst each time I walk by. They have moved from fun and whimsical to downright horror movie-ish, including enough electronics and sound effects to support a B-rated movie.
And it leaves me wondering why.
To address my curiosity, I asked a few friends their thoughts on this year’s over-the-top Halloween decorations, especially the gory stuff. The responses ranged from conspiracy theories about big-box wholesalers exploiting their patrons to the suggestion that community competition fuels the abundant decor.
But there was one comment that caught my attention, and it has stuck with me.
“Regardless of why homes are so lavishly decorated, there could be unintended and unexpected consequences.”
It gets a little complicated, but let me try to explain.
The theory goes something like this: perhaps our choices and preferences give us a glimpse of what is happening inside us. Not always, and certainly not enough to judge another person’s heart. We can’t look at someone’s front yard—or their words, clothing, hobbies, or choices—and know what is happening in their relationship with God.
But Scripture does remind us that what is happening inside us eventually finds its way into our lives. Our hearts influence our words, our attitudes, our reactions, and the way we treat the people around us. Sometimes what we thought was tucked away safely inside us has a way of creeping out into the open.
And that’s where this little neighborhood observation became less about my neighbors and much more about me.
I recognize this theory has some major holes, and I certainly don’t pretend to know what is happening in anyone else’s heart. But I think my friend’s reflection was meant to be just that—a prompt for us to think about all we do as believers and make sure our choices reflect the heart God is forming in us.
It’s easy for our behavior and words to have unintended and sometimes unexpected consequences if we aren’t consistently testing them against God’s truth.
How about you? Do you have any lingering skeletons hanging in your closet that could influence the way you walk through life? Is there a bit of unforgiveness, a hint of stereotyping, or a measure of resentment that influences how you walk in the world?
I encourage you to take a little time and ask Jesus to redecorate the thoughts of your heart. You may find real freedom in exchanging your plans for His.
So, I’m beginning to think the better question isn’t, “What do my neighbors’ decorations say about them?”
Maybe it’s:
“Jesus, what do the decorations of my own heart say about me?”
“Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!”— Psalm 139:23–24
Be blessed.
