I have been a Christian for years but I still see a fortune teller out of curiosity and just for fun. I find that what I’m told makes some sense to me. Some friends tell me not to, but I don’t see what the big deal is.
Joey says
Dear Michael,
Your friends are expressing concern for a good reason. In Deuteronomy 18, God expressly forbids his people from practicing divination or sorcery. This doesn’t only apply to fortune tellers; it also applies to those who get their fortune told. (Even if the command only applied to fortune tellers, as Christians, we should not be participating in something that leads others to disobey God.)
1 Samuel 16:7 tells us that God looks at the heart and Psalm 139:23-24 encourages us to invite God to search our heart. So it is important to reflect more deeply about one’s intentions. The question I would ask is, “What are you curious about?” Could there be something deeper behind the curiosity? People who go to fortune tellers often do so because they desire to know the future: this gives them a sense of control or security. This desire is at odds with having faith in God, and trusting God who knows the future to guide us. Only God knows our hearts, so ask God to reveal if there’s something more than curiosity.
You said that it’s “just for fun”. There are many things you can do for fun: why fortune-telling in particular? If there is a resistance to giving up fortune-telling, you may also want to invite God to show you what is the root of the resistance. The roots of your feelings of resistance may not be immediately apparent and are something only God can reveal.
You mentioned that what you are told makes sense, and I believe it. It makes sense for various reasons: (i) some fortune tellers use their understanding of human psychology to their advantage e.g. cold reading; (ii) there may be truth mixed into it; and (iii) there may be demonic influences at work. But God is the source of wisdom, and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 9:10). Fortune telling cannot give you knowledge that is greater than God’s knowledge. And divine knowledge comes from humbling ourselves before God and obeying God.
Finally, is this “fun” truly harmless? An important question to reflect on is whether fortune telling helps to draw you closer to God, and to trust God more, or is it subtly drawing you away from God, to trust someone or something else other than God. You may be opening yourself up to other spiritual forces. If you are still not convinced, try this: hold off on seeing fortune tellers for now, and in the meantime, pray and ask God to reveal to you whether it is as harmless as you think it is.
