A Day To Be Feared?
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http://www.forthright.net
Straight to the Cross
COLUMN: Heavenly Connection
A Day To Be Feared?
by Tim Hall
Watch out for the black cat that tries to cross
your path. Never walk underneath a ladder. When
you tip over a salt shaker, be sure to pitch a
little over your left shoulder (or is it your
right shoulder?). And by no means should you ever,
ever attempt anything important on Friday the
13th.
Don't assume that everyone is chuckling along with
you over these examples of superstition. According
to an article on About.com on the subject,
"Paraskevidekatriaphobia" (fear of Friday the
13th) is a condition that afflicts 21 million
Americans - about eight percent of the population.
According to the same article, a study appeared in
1993 in the British Medical Journal confirming
that a greater number of auto accidents occur on
Friday the 13th than on Friday the 6th.
What's a Christian to do? Do we play it safe and
carefully avoid stepping on the sidewalk's cracks
so as to avoid breaking our mother's back?
"Superstition" comes from a root that mean
"standing over". It's the idea that certain dark
forces hover above us over which we have no
control. These forces (according to some) are not
to be taken lightly. Laugh at the fear of Friday
the 13th at your own peril.
The Bible, however, makes it clear that God is the
ultimate Force to be heeded. Allowing our lives to
be guided by fears of other "powers" is wrong.
In Jeremiah's day, many in Judah had turned from
God to idolatry and other superstitions. He
warned: "Thus says the Lord: 'Do not learn the way
of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs
of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
For the customs of the peoples are futile. . .'"
(Jer. 10:2,3, NKJV). How much have we progressed
in 21st-century America? Have we learned the
futility of observing the positions of planets and
stars for the purpose of guiding our decisions? Or
do we continue to follow the way of the Gentiles?
Years earlier, Isaiah had put the problem in
perspective: "And when they say to you, 'Seek
those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and
mutter,' should not a people seek their God?
Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?
To the law and to the testimony! If they do not
speak according to this word, it is because there
is no light in them" (Isa. 8:19,20). The choice,
according to Isaiah, is simple: Do we turn to the
God of light for guidance, or to pseudo-forces
that can give no light at all?
Sure, I avoid walking under ladders. But I do so
because of concerns about falling objects, not
because I fear some hex that may be placed upon
me. As a Christian, I do not bow to irrational
fears. I follow the revealed will of God and
refuse to be shackled by superstitious ideas
handed down through time.
Here's the Good News: "And you shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free" (Jn.
8:32). Now get out and enjoy the day!
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