Leaving doubtful work

Someone dear to me quit his very lucrative job blowing exquisitely beautiful glass pipes and has found other work laying floor tiles for much less money. As I myself had often voiced disapprobation toward the making of bongs, I am feeling bad that the guy is now struggling financially, even as I am glad he obeyed the voice of God immediately in leaving the doubtful work.

The other day I was weakening in my certainty. I wanted to be 100 percent sure and not merely 80 percent sure in my encouragement of the young man; vague and middling counsel is of no benefit. But nattering voices in me were saying things like: "Making water pipes is not a crime" . . . "Those pipes are so expensive that they are collectors items" . . . "Most buyers probably display them rather than use them" . . . "Hashish is not heroin" . . . "It was irresponsible for him to quit the glass studio without having another job lined up." (As it happened, the Lord provided him with new gainful employment within the week.)

I went to my spiritual mentor. I said, "David, are you 100 percent sure he did the right thing by leaving his legal and $1,000 a week job blowing bongs, even before he had another job?" David replied, "Andrée, there are two kingdoms-the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. The use of drug paraphernalia has roots deep in the history Satan's dark kingdom. It is all part of the world of the occult, with its involvement in drugs and potions used in pagan religious worship of demons. Whatever is not with Christ is against Him. The young man absolutely did the right thing. Better to be a doorkeeper in the house of God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked."

After we spoke I looked up Galatians 5:19-21 and Revelation 9:21. I learned that "sorcery" is still with us and will be until the end. Strong's concordance informed me that the Greek word behind the ESV's "sorcery" is "pharmacia."