Superstitions

Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars hill, and said, ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.  Acts 17:22

Today is Friday the 13th.  YIKES!  I wonder how many people woke up this morning with the mindset that it was going to be a day filled with trouble and bad luck?  It made me think of many of the superstitions that I heard of as a child.  Here are a few examples:

    Never open an umbrella indoors-

    Never walk under a ladder-

    Turn around if a black cat crosses your path-

    If you spill salt, throw salt over your left shoulder-

    Break a mirror, expect 7 years of bad luck-

    Step on a crack, break your Mother's back-

European folklore, ancient Romans and pagan cultures such as the Celts, brought many of these superstitions to light.

Knocking on wood originated from the Celts because they believed that Spirits lived in trees!

And did you know that 85% of buildings that have Otis Elevators, purposely omitted the 13th floor?

Webster defines Superstitions as- A belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, an irrational abject attitude of mind toward the supernatural.

(Another word for Superstition is idolatry.)

To be superstitious means to be swayed by superstition.

Christian-we are NOT to live this way!

2 Timothy 1:7 says, For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

So what is the opposite of Superstition?  Reality, Truth, Fact.

"Lead me in Thy Truth, and teach me:  for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day."  Psalm 25:5

Edmund Burke once said, "Superstition is the religion of the feeble minds."

I don't know about you, but I'm too busy to try to keep up with all the superstitious precautions as I go about my day, and I want nothing between my Lord and my Saviour.  I want my mind focused on One Truth:  The Truth:  Jesus!

    But that's just me!

"The three most powerful and most apparent means used by Rome to retain her power over the minds of her votaries are ignorance, superstition and persecution."  Charles Spurgeon