I can't stand Halloween. I have relatives who love it, and actually got married on Halloween, but I can't stand it ...it seems to me that it actually plays too much on glorifying death.

I do remember my Dad telling of pranks (he heard about) from his childhood.  It seems most were mild jokes, pranks, and some vandalism ...the more extreme ones against the most crotchety people.  They were not usually that well-liked  ...though many colorful stories brought forth a character that was often long remembered.

But in the meantime, when these people were the recipients of pranks, most others felt that in some small way, they deserved it.

If it was someone nice, most everyone would say, "I can't believe anyone could do such a thing to such a nice old lady."

Whether we observe others to be nice, or not so ...we all have our struggles.  And often those who struggle the most are those who are the closest ...or who have the same interests close at heart.

But, we can have the same interests and still differ.  When we differ greatly, it seems our common interests do not remain our main focus.

Usually the main problem arises when the difference is on the scale of preservation or destruction.  But, even that seems to become muddled.  Do we ignore the tremendous importance of a child within the womb ...and focus instead on preserving the habitat of some Arctic rodent?

And vegetarians excluded, most of us have no problem eating fast-food burgers.  I'm not trying to make a beef with you, but 
we usually do distinguish between a living person and a living animal.  And even within animals, we feel it cruel to mistreat an animal, unless we intend to eat it.  Our native Americans, killed buffalo to meet their life needs ...yet, found it wasteful for the railroad workers to shoot them and just leave them.

I think a deer is a beautiful animal, and I've never shot one ...though venison is my favorite meat.  Dad usually supplied venison ...and it was a provision for his family, not looked at as a sport.  He took hunting very seriously, and safety was of optimal importance.   

It was not a huge celebration ...it was more like a humble table fixed, like at Thanksgiving.  We celebrate with thanksgiving what God has provided.  We also celebrate the provision of our military, whose commitment too often leads to death ...yet, it stands as a courageous death.

We also stand in humble thanksgiving for the death of Jesus, yet we save our celebration for His resurrection.  His death provided us life ...and it is life that we can truly celebrate.  

The only really bad trick is getting us to believe this not to be true ...so we miss out on the real treat, of being able to have eternal life with Him.