seperation anxiety

[Shmanu YAH]

 

shalom mishpacha w'rehym, "ALL praises and glory to the Most High YHWH" from where all true wisdom and knowledge comes from and is given to thoses that ask.

In this simple but possibly convicting communication I'd like to visit a situation we know about but may not yet whole heartedly dealt with personally, our traditional "seperation anxieties". In it's most common usage anxiety is defined: distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune So in the terminology "seperation anxiety" it would be: distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of something being removed from a person.The reason I needed to establish this definition is because tradition (even pagan traditions) still cause many to stumble even though we should know and respond better by now.

Unfortunately in our continued worldy quest to "fit in" we still adapt cultural behavings we should have eschewed long ago soon as we learned of YHWH's instruction. I'm not gonna go through the extensive list of do's and dont's given to Moshe to deliver to the chosen "ben'y Yisrael" ... like to have NO graven images, not to profane his name / renoun, which day is shabt, who to honor, what to eat or not eat, how to treat each other etc, etc, etc, because most of what we have come to understand we have made efforts to uphold, not for salvation but to show odedience in order to please the Most High. However I'm sure after all the continuous teachings from all over the world that I'm not the only one to notice some of us still can't seperate from one tradition that flies in the face of the first commandment " thou shall have NO other elohyms before me", and we should understand "before me" means in my face or presence. Understanding that the Most High sees all, then anything we try to get away with will still be in his face.

Many of us have various different types of mighty things we uplift or hold in high regard possibly without even realizing how focused we are on those carnal things and yet others of us have mighty things we dont even care if those things offend the most high ... OH OH! Out of all the many things that offend lets look at just 1 thats very common in many messianic households: The uplifting of pagan gods namely Greek, Roman, Celtic gods in our much coveted motor vehicles, sportswear, toys etc. our foods and even our childrens names. Lets examine a few of the many names of these offensive dieties and see if they ring a bell: Mercury, Saturn, Taurus, Eqinox, Solstice, Midas, Vulcan (are some of the motor vehicles), Raytheon (our military missile builders) ( from light of the gods), Addidas (from the greek god of victory), Nike (from the greek goddess of victory),.Titans (from the greek were elder gods), Mars (from the roman god of war), Cereal (from the roman goddess of grain), Arm & Hammer (of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and metalworking), Briget (from the celtic, triple goddess of the Empire), Carman (the Irish goddess of sterility), Gia (the earth goddess), Daphne ( greek Laurel goddess), Aurora (from the roman goddess of the dawn), Venus (from the roman goddess of love), Victoria (from the roman of victory)

and the list goes on and on - not to mention the names of wicked rulers such as the Ceasars that even have a palace named after them in Las Vegas (that folks won't stay away from) as well as a "Little Ceasars"pizza franchise nationwide most of us have patronized at one time or another, also Nero the Roman Emperor from 54 to 68 A.D. has computer burning software named after his wickedness as well as many others names too numerous to post here.

Although it may not be possible to run from or escape every name of every pagan god successfully because we have no power over the naming of these products or their manufacturers, IT IS possible to seperate from uplifting the names of these dieties when it comes to carnal pleasures or leisures such as willingly sporting pagan names gods and making those companies filthy rich just so we can be trendy... like in the highly coveted sportsware. One major "seperation anxiety" that may convict many of us is trying to get ourselves and households to be q'dosh aka set-apart when it comes to being socially stylish but without the major sportswear companies like ADDIDAS and NIKE. The issue it not whether they produce quality products, they certainly are high quality and somtimes high price even tho their workers don't always recieve quality wages, but the issue for us that no longer walk in darkness is: what are we helping to support?

If each and every torah understaning and messianic believer you know stop supporting these companies, these companies would care less ... probably wouldn't even notice a sales drop. What I'm pointing out is: why would we continue to support the name of pagan gods in the face of a true and living Elohym just so we can look sporty? I have already heard the desperate reaction misrepresenting scripture as recorded in Matthew 6:25: ... Because of this I say to you, be not anxious for your life, what ye may eat, and what ye may drink, nor for your body, what ye may put on. Is not the life more than the nourishment, and the body than the clothing? (YLT).

Even a newcomer to the truth can see what this statement really is about, it directs us not to worry about food, drink, health or clothing in general but NOT a permission to freely adorn pagan symbolism. If we claim that YHWH is our only elohym then is past time we "stand on it" and let our actions reflect our claim! There may not be much we can do about some of the machines, cars, tools, food, utility companies etc. that carry pagan god names but there is no excuse for our seperation anxiety from sneakers, socks, hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts, jogging suits etc. proudly uplifting the names of dieties from our head to our toes (do you proudly uplift the name of YHWH all over town with that same vigor?) Out of all the many manufacturers the world over you mean we still cant find a different pair of sneakers?

How long can we with a straight face lift up the banner of the Most High with 1 hand and the banner of pagan gods with the other hand? I think n'aby EliYahu aka "Elijah the prophet" said it well in 1st. Kings 18:21: And Eliyah came unto all the people, and said, "How long halt ye between two opinions? if  YHWH be Elohym, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. ....- now know assuredly the Most High hasn't told me to drag anyone to har Karmel or any other mount to question them, I'm just suggesting we question ourselves and come up with a responsible answer to why cant we observe the first commandment fully knowing in our hearts we have set up so many Elohyms in the past and unfortuntely for us some are still lingering around today, what with all this seperation anxiety? CUT IT LOOSE!

.... selah, shalom