Thursday the 12th: Toss Aside the False God of Superstition

“‘Come; let us discuss this,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.’ For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 1:18-20)

Tomorrow is Friday the 13th. For some, it’s a day to plow through a marathon of a cheesy slasher series. But for many, that means a day of superstition, bad luck, and haunting things. It’s a day in which people emphasize tired sayings, ghost stories, and musings on the supernatural.

It’s a day of unbelief. Why do I say that? Because people from every religion, every walk of life, fall prey to the trappings of an invented horror. There’s so much undue hushed talk around the dangers of the number 13. Every worse thing imaginable can happen on a Friday the 13th, they say. It’s a day of spirits and ghoulish machinations, some say. Be on the lookout for ladders, black cats, and broken mirrors, many lament.

It’s all hogwash. 13 is the number that comes between 12 and 14. Nothing more and nothing less. It has no power. It’s no more dangerous to duck under a ladder on Friday the 13th than it is on Christmas. And there’s no such thing as luck, bad or good. Black cats are merely what they say on the tin—cats colored black. What if you break a mirror? Well, unfortunately, you may have to buy a new one. Shocking and terrifying as that fate is, it’s not luck.

People are fickle gossipers and worshippers of lies. Even words given that are intended merely to entertain can turn even the most benign of circumstances into a horrifying, tragic, and deadly event waiting to happen.

Everything has a cause and an effect. That black cat crossed the road in front of you to get something to eat or to find some shade or otherwise. It’s not going to curse you with bad luck or spoiled karma. Something falls on your head after you went under a ladder. Guess what happened? A) You weren’t paying attention. B) Someone or something dropped said object. C) There was never a time when that wasn’t going to happen.

Why? Because whatever choice you make leads to the next. And the choices you make, God knows. He knows that if you read a certain text on a certain day, you will come to Him. He knows that if you hear such and such talk about something that you’re interested in, it will be a way to draw you to Him. God knows, sees, and ordains all that has happened or will happen in this world. He is never truly surprised.

We don’t have the benefit of omnipotence. We’re squishy and fleshy things prone to fear and anxieties. When things go wrong, when we don’t believe in Him, we make up stories to warn others to take care not to make our mistakes. But if we’re not in the right mind with God, our warnings are tainted by unbelief and sin, leading to the multiple superstitions that have overtaken our lives and especially on manufactured “bad luck days” like Friday the 13th.

But the Truth that he has given us is paramount. It is not a lie. It is not a superstition. Tomorrow, if you feel the call to falsehoods and worry over unreal horrors, turn instead to the Lord your God and He will, as is written above, cleanse you of your iniquities and your sin. Wash away the blood of superstition and evil with the Holy Blood of Jesus Christ and be made new.

Look to the light of Truth, not the darkness of death and superstition. Thanks for reading and may God be with you.