Galatians 5:19-21 NIV The acts of the flesh are obvious; sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry, and witchcraft….. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
When I was a kid, my family had a difficult neighbor who my dad not so kindly referred to as a witch. I’d never seen this neighbor, and true to child nature, I took everything literally. I admit, I had a stereotypical view of how a witch looked so I would fearfully envision our neighbor stirring a cauldron and making rhymes in her black dress, black pointy hat, with glistening green skin and a long nose boasting a wart. I think my perception of a witch most likely came from the wicked witch of the west in The Wizard Of Oz.
My perception changed a lot when I reached middle school and occult practices and movies that showcased them became popular. For example, the movie, ‘The Craft’ was really fascinating to my circle of friends. I wasn’t all that interested in the movie because it felt creepy but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued by the promise of power, romance and money that Hollywood teased me with. The part I was really into though was the makeup and clothes we tried to imitate. What a look. Dark makeup and revealing, dark clothing. It was appealing for my age group for some reason.
No matter what you think of when witchcraft comes to mind, it’s not as harmless as you may believe. Some may view it as acceptable because they or someone they know only practices ‘white magic’ and not ‘black magic’. While white and black magic allegedly have different intentions, I want to take this time to define witchcraft. It is the practice of magic, especially for evil purposes. Now, Scripture also lists sorcery as a detestable practice way back in Deuteronomy 18:10. Sorcery is the practice of magic, especially black magic. [Or, evil purposes.] I’m bringing up sorcery because there’s truly no difference in practice.
Today, I realize that our perception of witchcraft is all Hollywood. It’s still a terrifying and sinful reality. Paul is so clear in Galatians that witchcraft is an act of the flesh and that those who practice it will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians mentions quite a few other sins that we as humans are guilty of and shouldn’t be taking so flippantly. As Christians, it’s imperative that we take all these things seriously, identify them in our own life and work with God on changing our hearts.
God means what he says. He clearly states that sorcery and witchcraft is wrong and will lead us away from him. He says those who practice magic will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. [Rev 21:8, Rev 22:15] You can’t get much further away from God than that. Don’t take a chance!
Never Ending Praise The Lord 
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