{"id":54541,"date":"2018-11-10T19:01:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-11T01:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=54541"},"modified":"2022-09-30T19:05:13","modified_gmt":"2022-10-01T00:05:13","slug":"i-refused-to-drink-some-mystic-water-and-now-the-office-thinks-i-may-be-a-witch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-refused-to-drink-some-mystic-water-and-now-the-office-thinks-i-may-be-a-witch\/","title":{"rendered":"I refused to drink some “mystic” water and now the office thinks I may be a witch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

Hey Jeffrey,<\/p>\n

I need guidance. We had prayer and fasting at work, during which our boss asked for a bag of sachet water which he anointed with an oil that he said was given to him by God. He then said that whoever has an ailment of any kind should come and drink it and he will be healed. He also added that every witch or wizard in the organization will die after drinking it. Well, I refuse to drink the water, and because of this, other colleagues are acting strangely toward me, possibly thinking I’m a witch.<\/p>\n

How should I handle this?<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

Your refusal was the correct thing to do. Your boss was practicing witchcraft while presenting it in the trappings of Christian terminology. He lied that God gave him the oil. He lied about what the water would do. I am positive that people were\u00a0not<\/strong>\u00a0healed after drinking the water, though some probably improved due to the placebo effect.<\/p>\n

None of these antics are taught in the Word of God. These are merely the product of an overactive imagination.<\/p>\n

Those who practice witchcraft pretend to have power that others do not have. They use trickery or deceit to fool people into believing their claims. See Is Witchcraft Real?<\/a> Unfortunately, you have an office full of people who accepted the lies, either because they believe the lies must be true or because they want to make a good impression on the boss. People tend to dislike people who are different, even if they are right. “An unjust man is abominable to the righteous, and he who is upright in the way is abominable to the wicked<\/em>” (Proverbs 29:27).<\/p>\n

Fortunately, it doesn’t matter what your co-workers think of you. What matters is what God thinks of you.<\/p>\n

Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me;
\nFighting all day long he oppresses me.
\nMy foes have trampled upon me all day long,
\nFor they are many who fight proudly against me.
\nWhen I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.
\nIn God, whose word I praise,
\nIn God I have put my trust;
\nI shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?
\nAll day long they distort my words;
\nAll their thoughts are against me for evil.
\nThey attack, they lurk, they watch my steps,
\nAs they have waited to take my life.<\/em>\nBecause of wickedness, cast them forth,
\nIn anger put down the peoples, O God!<\/em>
\n(Psalms 56:1-7).<\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: Hey Jeffrey, I need guidance. We had prayer and fasting at work, during which our boss asked for a bag of sachet water which he anointed with an oil that he said was given to him by God. He then said that whoever has an ailment of any kind should come and drink it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[478,604],"class_list":["post-54541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-false-teachers","tag-witchcraft"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16049,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-my-husband-be-under-the-spell-of-a-witch\/","url_meta":{"origin":54541,"position":0},"title":"Can my husband be under the spell of a witch?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 14, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I want to know if witchcraft really exists. My husband, I feel, is under a spell where he goes to this lady and they are having an affair. We have known each other for ten years and got married last year. 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Answer: I was intrigued by your question. I am not sure what you exactly mean by premeditated and what boundaries to go by, but in the Bible, there are sins mentioned that people don't realize what they are doing. There are also other sins where\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23853,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-the-egyptian-magicians-able-to-do-real-miracles\/","url_meta":{"origin":54541,"position":3},"title":"Were the Egyptian magicians able to do real miracles?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I want to know if the Egyptian magicians did real miracles or did they appear to do so by the means of a tonic to immobilize the snakes? Also did the witch at Endor really summon Samuel or was it an illusion? Answer: It might seem that the Egyptian\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49490,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-a-marriage-performed-by-a-witch-doctor-legitimate\/","url_meta":{"origin":54541,"position":4},"title":"Is a marriage performed by a witch doctor legitimate?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Here in Africa people go to witch doctors in order to get married, which is a sin. Now can you please tell me if people, who are married by a witch doctor, are allowed to have sex with each other because that for me is a sin? 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