Separation Anxiety

Unity kills....well, sometimes.  Obviously, this statement implies that a person can be connected with another person or group that halts their progression through life.  Many of us have probably experienced growing up in a family - whether based on blood or some other link - that while loving and genuine, was also cancerous to our aspired goals.  All too often wee see brilliant, talented teenagers allow their budding lives to be pruned by their uninspired comrades.  Scholarships get discarded, careers go abandoned, and values get denied.  And this isn't limited to teens and twenty somethings; as grown men and women center the daily operation of their lives around their crew.  Extraordinary business minds are often stunted when shared with a lazy friend, who claims the dream is only that.  Even moving to a better home in a better neighborhood is shot down because some are "keeping it real" at age 35.  Immature?  Without a doubt.

It all boils down to the unwillingness to separate from what was crafted around us as being normal.  And while this isn't limited to it, frequently this holds people back from a having productive, authentic lives with Jesus Christ.  A college friend of mine made this clear during a meeting; saying she had to step away from the corporate world hamster wheel...completely...to pursue hers.  Hearing her words I also heard that a similar attitude must occur in many of our most fun, most enjoyable, most comfortable relationships when pursuing Christ (Matthew 10:37).  And this is where the line is drawn for most of us.

We all have separation anxiety.  No one wants to be alone.  No one wants to be considered an outsider.  And I know there's been a huge "do you" campaign going on, but only if they are being acknowledged for it do many people really want to be different.  And so we latch on to those who are nothing more than junk food; very comfortable and easy with limited to no nutritional value.  So when the notion to know or to follow Jesus appears, it's not the enemy who convinces us to do otherwise...but it's us not wanting to be left out.  And in order to maintain tasty but toxic relationships, we relegate Jesus to an as-need basis.

But we know we want more.  We wake up every morning feeling that our current situation cannot be where we end up; and we go to sleep each night asking why, when the answer is in our Contacts file on our phones.  So we have to be honest with ourselves; what are we willing to separate from to clear the path?  Which discouraging friends and family members gotta go for a minute (or longer) to make your business work?  What areas can you no longer visit to ensure the actions behind your morals line up?  Who needs to be loved distantly to strengthen your relationship with Christ?  We all know what and who; but that's only half the solution.

Peace