It sits at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It is the number one most popular item in the book and DVD sections on Amazon.com. Oprah did a show around The Secret, and it became her most popular show ever. Critics are calling the DVD version the best movie of all time. What is The Secret?
Written by Rhonda Byrne, The Secret is a book and DVD which beautifully packages the teachings of positive thinking and human potential. The “secret” referred to is the “Law of Attraction,” which is defined as the unspoken law of the universe that attracts good or bad things to us based on our thoughts, feelings and desires.
The Secret is really nothing new. Ever since Norman Vincent Peale wrote The Power of Positive Thinking in the early fifties, we have seen a flood of books written on the subject. If you look at a list of the top 10 books on Amazon.com, you are likely to find 3 or 4 written on the topic of positive thinking.
We are told by the proponents of The Secret that these teachings are found in the Bible. In fact, they tell us that Jesus himself knew and taught The Secret. To some Christians, this might seem to fly in the face of the Christian World View. On the one hand, you have an impersonal “law” in the universe that doesn’t understand what we want or desire and merely attracts things to us based on our thoughts and feelings. On the other hand, we have a personal God who is intricately involved in the most miniscule details of our lives and listens to our every prayer with understanding and compassion.
Still, some insist that these teachings are scriptural. We are usually given three scriptures to back that up. Let’s take a look at them to see if this is really the case.
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 10:10
In this first passage, Jesus tells us that he came that we would have life to the full. With this, we are told that Jesus means that we should have rich, enjoyable lives. We should be successful in all areas of life. But is that what Jesus is really talking about?
We, as disciples of Jesus, know that this life is not about monetary success or accomplishments of the sort that the world may value. Jesus is very clear about what this life has in store for us. We will be hated, suffer persecution, be mistreated, and go through a seemingly never-ending barrage of problems that are designed to make us more like Christ. Christ Himself learned obedience through the things he suffered, and that is His plan for us.
Was Jesus “successful” in the modern sense of the word? Is a homeless, poor, persecuted man successful? Is a man who is falsely accused and killed successful? And, if not, how can we think that he came to give us success as the world defines it? If he turned down worldly success every time he was offered it, why do we think he would want us to pursue worldly success in life? Is that why he died?
No. The truth is that we are to live for another life. We are promised persecution and hard times in this earthly life. In fact, if it were not for the resurrection, we would be the most pitiable of all people! Truly, our hope is in Heaven, not on this earth. We want to have our treasure where it will last.
Jesus didn’t want his followers to be wasting their time seeking success in this life. In fact, he told them not to even worry about their basic needs. He would provide all their needs, if His disciples would only seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness. Does God want us to be happy? Of course! But He wants to be the One to bring us joy, peace and fulfillment. These things are His gifts – not things to be pursued!
The real “secret” is that the success the world values does not bring true happiness. Anybody who has been successful beyond their wildest dreams will tell you that success with money or career has no connection to true happiness. And, yet, the world seems blinded to this fact.
The second verse that we should look at has been taken severely out of context (notice that this verse is usually quoted using the King James Version):
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.
Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)
We are told that the Bible tells us that you become what you think in your heart. This is used to show that it is very important to think the right things. But is this really what this passage is saying? Let’s look at it in the context of a more modern translation:
Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
have the wisdom to show restraint.
Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
Do not eat the food of a stingy man,
do not crave his delicacies;
For he is the kind of man
who is always thinking about the cost.
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
Proverbs 23:4-7 (NIV)
Solomon is giving a warning to guests at the table of a miser. The man is really what he thinks in his heart, not what he says with his mouth. In other words, the man may be saying “eat all you want,” but in reality, he is thinking of the cost of the food you are consuming.
This has nothing to do with “positive thinking,” does it?
The most interesting part is the context. Solomon is telling us not to pursue riches, which is one of the strongest motivators behind the whole “law of attraction!”
As in the above example, usually only a small part of this next verse is quoted in order to have the desired effect:
We take captive every thought.
2 Corinthians 10:5
This scripture has been used to warn us to not have bad or negative thoughts. We are taught this verse tells us to control our thoughts. Of course, that is one of the basic tenants of the “Law of Attraction:” if you think good thoughts then good things will come to you, but if you think bad thoughts, then bad things will come to you. But, is that what Paul is really saying?
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Paul is talking about the truth in the Word of God versus the “truths” of the world or Satan. We, as children of light, are supposed to be in the spiritual battle waging war against the Devil’s lies. Taken in context, the “thoughts” we are to take captive are not our own thoughts, but the thoughts of the world. They are the thoughts that are used by Satan to influence people into following him, rather than Christ.
In other words, we are to be catalysts (agents of change) in the world. We are to be prepared to defend God’s Word and battle the lies of the enemy.
Once again, the very passage that is used by the “positive thinking” teachers, is warning us against these very teachings! God’s word is truly amazing!
In closing, let us consider the message we are left with at the end of The Secret DVD:
“Welcome to planet earth. There is nothing you cannot be or have. You are a magnificent creator. And you are here by your own powerful and deliberate wanting to be here. Go forth giving thought to what you are wanting.”
Does this sound familiar? It should. It’s the oldest lie in the universe:
For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
Genesis 3:5
To be like God is what Satan offered Eve in the Garden of Eden, and it is what he offers still. He tells us that we control our happiness, our success, our world. Will we believe him?
God offers us a path of suffering. Self denial and repentance from our own way are things he requires. He warns us to count the cost before we even begin to try to follow Him. We who have chosen to give up our lives to follow God know the difficulty of the way.
Why would we choose to follow Christ?
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Originally published in Faith21 Magazine (www.faith21.org)