On Magic

I find that a surprising number of professing Christians think in magical terms. 

Let me explain what I mean by that. 

I’m not talking about “stage magic,” where somebody pulls a quarter out of a kid’s ear or a rabbit out of a hat. Those folks are in the entertainment business, and everybody knows that. 

No, I’m talking about real magic, witchcraft, where somebody casts a “spell” or a “hex” on an enemy, or where he wears an amulet or charm that will bring him “good luck,” or where the wife of a president consults an astrologer to see what days are auspicious for travel. 

The Bible mentions such practices in several places, and always negatively—examples include 

• ¹⁰There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, ¹¹Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. ¹²For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee (Dt 18.10-12). 

• ²⁷Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; ²⁸But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days (Dan 2.27-28). 

• And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus (Ac 13.6). 

• ¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, ²⁰Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, ²¹Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God (Ga 5.19-21). 

Why always negative? 

Well, what is magic, in essence? 

It’s an attempt to get the gods to do what you want. 

And that is to turn the universe upside down and inside out. God is not our servant; he is not here to do what we want. We are here to do what he wants. 

If I do this or this or that, God will do what I want. 

That’s, ironically, godless thinking. 

If I have my devotions, I’ll have a better day. 

If I go to church, maybe my prayers will be answered. 

If I tithe, maybe God will make me rich. 

Now, obviously, God tells us to pray, and to include in those prayers—among other things—our requests: 

• ⁶Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. ⁷And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Php 4.6-7). 

He even tells us to come boldly: 

• Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need (He 4.16). 

But he also cautions us to ask according to his will: 

• And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us (1J 5.14). 

This isn’t about getting him to do what we want; it’s about aligning our wishes and desires with what he wants. 

And how do we do that? 

• We make a conscious decision to trust the goodness of his will for us and for those we love. That’s a matter of the heart. 

• And then we go to the effort of discovering what that will is, by filling our minds with the expressions of his will in the Scripture. That’s a matter of the mind. 

• And then we choose to seek that will, to ask for it. That’s a matter of the will. 

We need to remember who’s boss. 

Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash