| By :
Michael A. Verdicchio
One night, in my early days of broadcasting, the radio station I worked for had a psychic on the air for an hour. My job was to get the callers ready and waiting on hold for their turn to ask the psychic about their future. At the end of the hour, one young lady never got her turn because time had run out. I told her that the show was over and then curiously asked her what question she had wanted to ask the psychic. She told me that she wanted to be a writer and was hoping to find out if she should pursue that endeavor. I then spent an half an hour with her on the phone sharing with her about free will. I told her that if her dream was to write, then she ought to pursue it. I told her she didn't need anyone's permission, nor did she need some "fortune teller" deciding for her. I explained to her that God wanted her life blessed and that He gave her free will to pursue her dreams and goals. I told her to look to God for help and direction. Needless to say, she thanked me and told me she was determined to write. One of the greatest things that God has given to every person is the freedom to make self-determined free will choices for our own lives. As you read through the Bible you will see that God never violates our free will. He may warn us, but He never oversteps our free will decisions. God gave us all free will and in His eyes it is a very big deal. That is why, in a number of places in the Scriptures, He is very clear about us not accepting predictions people give out for our lives. Those prognostications many times overstep and violate one's freedom of will. We ought to our get help and direction from God. But, He will never violate our free will choices. And just like the young lady I talked to many years ago, who wanted to write, the psychic might have told her not to write, thus interfering with her free will to pursue that which she desired. This topic can indeed be slippery ground for some Christians. There are those who laugh at the message they find in their "fortune cookie." Others may wonder about what they just read on that little piece of paper: is it really true? Am I going to be presented a great opportunity that I should take? Suppose the next day you are indeed presented with what looks like a great opportunity? You really ought to take it, right? After all, the message in your "fortune cookie" said to go for it, right? Some find it entertaining to read their horoscope every day, claiming they put no value in it whatsoever. But then why read it? And what happens when something in their horoscope proves to be true? That begins to add a little credibility to those daily predictions. Prognostications, fortune telling, and soothsaying have been around for a long, long time. They are nothing new. And the Bible does speak very plainly on that subject. The Scriptures do not indicate that it is a form of harmless entertainment. God says to avoid it. Perhaps God might be a little smarter than we are. Maybe His advice ought to be taken over everyone else's opinions. If He says to avoid something that we see no harm in, then just maybe He knows more about it than we do. There is an interesting passage in the book Isaiah where God is, for all intent and purposes, mocking those who have looked to the star gazers and prognosticators. He says, in essence, "Go run to them when you need help and see what they will do for you, nothing." We all have free will to choose who and what we listen to. We can take advice, counsel and direction from palm readers, Tarot cards, psychics, horoscopes and fortune cookies. Or, we can look to God for His help, guidance and direction. He has promised that He would light our path, and, that He would direct our steps.
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