Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, February 3, 2024
Earlier this week as Shelley and I were talking a walk, she pointed down to the sidewalk to show me this twig with a familiar shape. “Did you ever do that as a kid?” she asked.
I told her I had. This twig looks like the wishbone from a bird, such as a chicken or turkey. Mom raised a few chickens to stock our freezer with over the winter, and once in awhile she would hand us the wishbone.
“There,” she said. “Two of you grab it by the ends, and pull, and when it breaks, whoever gets the biggest part will have good luck!’
So, my sister and I would try it out. But since this was a chicken’s wishbone, and not a turkey wishbone, it never really worked. Often the bone was too slippery, and would just slide out from between our fingers. And my good Christian mother, of course, didn’t really believe a wishbone could give us good luck, and we didn’t believe it either.
But it’s surprising how many off-the-wall ideas people do believe these days. It seems as though if we don’t have solid truth, we tend to make something up and believe that. If you go up to Half-price Books at Crossroads Mall, you will find the astrology and occult section right next to the religious books. And I have seen people standing thoughtfully staring at the titles of the astrology books, probably trying to find the latest information about their sign.
And I have personally known at least one individual who went from firmly believing in the occult to firmly believing in God. I’ve watched the almost tearful relief as this person told me how happy she was once she realized that God loved her, and she no longer needed to try to depend on spells or horoscopes.
In His Bible, of course, God makes no bones (wishbones or otherwise) about what He thinks about the occult and witchcraft and similar ideas. Check out the two hard-hitting verses at the link below: