The Secret? Or The Way?
John 8:12 (New International Version)
12When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
There was something disconcerting about the panel on the t.v.. They all wore perpetual broad smiles through the entire hour of the show, during which they were talking about something called, "The Secret." There was something about them that made me feel creepy, although I realize it sounds mean spirited to fault someone for smiling.
The basic premise of The Secret is that we are all energy--and positive energy attracts positive energy. We attract to ourselves the things we pay attention to.
It was interesting to observe the faces of the two women in the audience who had life problems they wanted to solve and to whom the panel preached their mantra. Even though they were on national television and the pressure must have been huge to conform and agree with the panel, I saw the merest flickers of incredulity and bewilderment cross their faces and register in their eyes, even as they were nodding their heads and agreeing that yes, they understood, their problems could be solved by focusing their thoughts and their attention on their desires.
The apostle Paul warns in Galatians 1:8, that anyone who preaches any other gospel, or "good news," than the gospel he had preached, would be "eternally condemned." The gospel these people were preaching is "another gospel." According to The Secret, we are all "wonderful." There is no need of a Saviour.
As in any deception, there are grains of truth--principles that are in God's Word for the reader to discover. We are the objects of God's love and he joys over us with singing, according to Zephaniah 3: 17. But there was something out of kilter. Their good news was based on the goal of getting what you want in life--and who wouldn't want that? There was no mention of God--only of "the universe." According to The Secret, it is the universe that sends good things to those who focus on them. But who made the universe, and who set these laws in place?
This morning Brenda and I sat in our sun filled room and drank coffee as she caught me up on her week. She told me about a phone conversation she'd overheard one day, where a woman was talking to a man who was depressed and considering suicide. All the woman had to offer him was "worldly wisdom," and Brenda said she felt like taking the phone from the woman and telling the man about the hope that is in Jesus. She said that as she listened to the woman, she could see with the eyes of her spirit, a black, tar-like substance oozing from the woman's mouth as she spoke.
Many people will no doubt rush to buy the DVD and book after seeing the show, believing that they have found "the answer,"--that their businesses can succeed, their debt be eliminated, their addictions beaten and their relationships all positive. I think of the one who said to Jesus two thousand years ago, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours." (Luke 4:6-7) Jesus answered (vs8) "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"
Jeremiah 2:13 (New International Version)
13 "My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
12When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
There was something disconcerting about the panel on the t.v.. They all wore perpetual broad smiles through the entire hour of the show, during which they were talking about something called, "The Secret." There was something about them that made me feel creepy, although I realize it sounds mean spirited to fault someone for smiling.
The basic premise of The Secret is that we are all energy--and positive energy attracts positive energy. We attract to ourselves the things we pay attention to.
It was interesting to observe the faces of the two women in the audience who had life problems they wanted to solve and to whom the panel preached their mantra. Even though they were on national television and the pressure must have been huge to conform and agree with the panel, I saw the merest flickers of incredulity and bewilderment cross their faces and register in their eyes, even as they were nodding their heads and agreeing that yes, they understood, their problems could be solved by focusing their thoughts and their attention on their desires.
The apostle Paul warns in Galatians 1:8, that anyone who preaches any other gospel, or "good news," than the gospel he had preached, would be "eternally condemned." The gospel these people were preaching is "another gospel." According to The Secret, we are all "wonderful." There is no need of a Saviour.
As in any deception, there are grains of truth--principles that are in God's Word for the reader to discover. We are the objects of God's love and he joys over us with singing, according to Zephaniah 3: 17. But there was something out of kilter. Their good news was based on the goal of getting what you want in life--and who wouldn't want that? There was no mention of God--only of "the universe." According to The Secret, it is the universe that sends good things to those who focus on them. But who made the universe, and who set these laws in place?
This morning Brenda and I sat in our sun filled room and drank coffee as she caught me up on her week. She told me about a phone conversation she'd overheard one day, where a woman was talking to a man who was depressed and considering suicide. All the woman had to offer him was "worldly wisdom," and Brenda said she felt like taking the phone from the woman and telling the man about the hope that is in Jesus. She said that as she listened to the woman, she could see with the eyes of her spirit, a black, tar-like substance oozing from the woman's mouth as she spoke.
Many people will no doubt rush to buy the DVD and book after seeing the show, believing that they have found "the answer,"--that their businesses can succeed, their debt be eliminated, their addictions beaten and their relationships all positive. I think of the one who said to Jesus two thousand years ago, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours." (Luke 4:6-7) Jesus answered (vs8) "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"
Jeremiah 2:13 (New International Version)
13 "My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
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