Sunday, October 17, 2010

"I don't like those naughty things!"

Disclaimer: These are my own thoughts, opinions and convictions. Please know that because these convictions are very personal, I do not hold others to them. If you choose to celebrate Halloween, that is your personal right. I do not condemn you nor judge you. I, however, do not feel comfortable with the celebration of Halloween. The purpose of this blog entry is merely to explain my reasons for this.

It is that time of year when Halloween decorations are littering the stores. Bleh. Since I am not a fan of Halloween, or the combination of orange and black, this is not a season I get excited about. Don't get me wrong, I rather enjoy fall. I love pumpkin muffins, fall soups, decorating my home for fall, more temperate weather and apple cider. Halloween, however, I could do without. This morning my sweet little boy was terrified by a rather disgusting decoration on display at our local Michaels. The item was a life-sized skeleton that was made to look quite bloody and garish. Why anyone would want to have such an item in their home is beyond my comprehension. Jackson's comment was, "That thing makes God sad. I do not like that naughty thing!"

Several years ago I taught a student whose family was from Haiti. He was greatly disturbed by the American fascination with Halloween. He told me about the very dangerous side of Halloween and the various satanic rituals and rites that were part of the night. This only served to bolster my feelings about Halloween. It also made me really give serious thought regarding my own reluctance to celebrate Halloween.

Halloween centers around things that are purposely disturbing, garish and fearful. Please note that I am not speaking merely of carved pumpkins or benign costumes, I am speaking of the purposeful display of garish statues and figures whose sole purpose is to offend and disgust. The Bible tells us to dwell on whatever is pure and holy, not grotesque and offensive.

Halloween celebrates superstition, for which I have no tolerance. Superstitions undermine the sovereignty of God. I have actually known people who are willing to completely disturb their life in order to serve their superstitions. I'm not just speaking of silly traditions (for example- ball players who wear the same, unwashed, socks all season. Gross, but not necessarily a superstition.) I speak of putting faith and giving credence to superstitions that affect significant behavior.

Halloween celebrates practices that I find to be evil. In my estimation, Halloween draws much attention to things of the Zodiac (horoscopes), palm reading, tarot reading and seances. The Bible is very, very clear that we are not to dabble in such things. Because I choose to believe the Bible as true, I also choose to believe these things are of no value to a Christian.

It seems that Halloween has taken a turn from when I was a child. My mom has substantiated this observation. It is also my observation that society is becoming increasingly nebulous. In other words, I think society, in the name of tolerance, is taking a turn toward standing for nothing and accepting all manner of behaviors. We don't want to offend anyone and therefore, we accept anything whether it is good or bad. Certainly it is not my desire to offend anyone, but it is my desire to be clear in my beliefs. Because it is also my God-given duty to raise my child in the admonition of the Lord, I must live my life with clarity and authenticity. If this means that we do not celebrate a certain holiday, then that is what it means.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Friendship

With great sadness I have watched a disturbing thing occur- the dissolution of friendships. Over the course of the last year or so I have watched at least 5 long standing friendships end. The ending of these friendships have all occurred, in my best estimation, due to a taking of offense. It has made me very sad to watch this happen and it has also made me think long and hard about friendship and what true friendship looks like.

Friendship says, "I love you more than this situation/issue." So often we become so caught up in being right that we forget how valuable our friends are to our lives. Our pride drives us to be 'right.' Our pride can also drive us right out of friendship. Is being 'right' (which more often then not is all a matter of perspective) really worth a friendship?

Friendship says, "I am secure enough in our friendship that we don't have to agree all of the time." What a sad thing when a friendship dissolves over a point of disagreement that is, in the big scheme of things, quite minor.

Friendship says, "Your name/reputation is safe with me." Need I say more?

Friendship says, "I rejoice in your successes even if I'm in a dry season." Isn't it sad when a friendship is ruined because one friend is so jealous of the other's season of joy or success that envy is allowed to walk into the friendship and tear it apart?

Friendship says, "I like that you have other friends." It has always been a mystery to me when a friendship is laced with jealousy. Why wouldn't you want your friend to have other friends?

Friendship says, "I forgive first and will ask questions later; but only if those questions will build our friendship."

Life is hard and life is harder if you are alone. Friendship is a gift that must be treasured and never taken for granted. Proverbs 17:17 tells us that a friend loves at all times. Notice that this verse says nothing about loving when it serves our selfish needs, loving when it is fun, loving when it is easy... NO! This verse simply says, "at all times."

I leave you with a thought from Frances Bacon that I believe is worth pondering. "The communicating of a man's self to his friend works two contrary effects; for it redoubleth joys and cutteth griefs in half."