I read an amazing blog entry today on OCN entitled When Prosperity Fades - Will the Gospel?
What can I say about this article that the article itself hasn't already said?!
It says everything about our modern culture with regard to religion, faith, economics, greed...
What this article doesn't talk about specifically, but I feel the need to address here, is "The Secret".
As far as the Law of Attraction goes, I have always known (and I think we all know this) is that whatever we are thinking about is going to affect our feelings and that affects our entire life. If you're going to be a negative person, you're going to be miserable for various reasons. Your faith will wither and die; you won't have many friends because of your negative attitude; you won't try as hard to accomplish anything because you will believe, deep down, that you will never succeed.
But if you replace those thoughts, feelings and actions with positive ones, and you bring God into your life, your life will be better.
This is not to say that you will become rich & famous or that you can mystically bring whatever you desire into your life. What this does is change your outlook. If your outlook is good, you will feel better and more likely accomplish things that you want to accomplish.
This is what I thought "The Secret" was when I first heard about it. But then I purchased the DVD and learned that it was something entirely different.
"The Secret": The First 20 Minutes of the Film
"The Secret" is a mystical belief system that if I imagine having something and really believe that I will get it, then I will receive it somehow. An example of this is seen in the video where a woman is admiring a necklace in a store window and she suddenly receives it as a gift from her boyfriend. They have even compared this to having your own personal genie in a bottle, as if God or "The Universe" is our personal wish fulfillment system.
Basically, if you picture that BMW in your mind and believe you will receive it, then you will...somehow.
What can I say about this article that the article itself hasn't already said?!
It says everything about our modern culture with regard to religion, faith, economics, greed...
What this article doesn't talk about specifically, but I feel the need to address here, is "The Secret".
As far as the Law of Attraction goes, I have always known (and I think we all know this) is that whatever we are thinking about is going to affect our feelings and that affects our entire life. If you're going to be a negative person, you're going to be miserable for various reasons. Your faith will wither and die; you won't have many friends because of your negative attitude; you won't try as hard to accomplish anything because you will believe, deep down, that you will never succeed.
But if you replace those thoughts, feelings and actions with positive ones, and you bring God into your life, your life will be better.
This is not to say that you will become rich & famous or that you can mystically bring whatever you desire into your life. What this does is change your outlook. If your outlook is good, you will feel better and more likely accomplish things that you want to accomplish.
This is what I thought "The Secret" was when I first heard about it. But then I purchased the DVD and learned that it was something entirely different.
"The Secret": The First 20 Minutes of the Film
"The Secret" is a mystical belief system that if I imagine having something and really believe that I will get it, then I will receive it somehow. An example of this is seen in the video where a woman is admiring a necklace in a store window and she suddenly receives it as a gift from her boyfriend. They have even compared this to having your own personal genie in a bottle, as if God or "The Universe" is our personal wish fulfillment system.
Basically, if you picture that BMW in your mind and believe you will receive it, then you will...somehow.
The Secret to Riches
The above video, at first, I thought was a joke. It was a video response to the first video, and I could've sworn it was a video of someone making fun of "The Secret", but then I realized that it was actually an advertisement for "The Secret".
How does that go? Oh...ok. Hang on a minute. "I have a BMW in my driveway right now." **sigh** Nope. Just my beat up, dirty Ford Escort with the Service Engine light on.
But you know what...I am grateful that I have that car, and I'm grateful that it's paid for. How did that happen? Hard work and smart financial decisions, not voodoo wish fulfillment.
God isn't in the business of handing out free BMWs and necklaces. He's interested in us loving each other, giving of ourselves and what we have freely to those who love us, hate us, or don't even know us. He wants our love and our faith, and He wants us to have everlasting life.
If you ask me, that definitely beats a BMW.
What does this have to do with the article I started this post with? Well, it's another perversion of who God is and what our purpose is on this planet. Because of the actions of some people and their misrepresentation of God and The Bible (and if you watch "The Secret", you will see them make reference to both as if it justifies what they are claiming), we aren't bringing more people to faith in Christ or closer to the kingdom. Instead, it's justifying greed and envy, preying on desperate people, and setting them up for failure. When they fail, what will happen to their faith?
If they succeed, will this strengthen faith in God or faith in themselves through their own efforts?
And what happens "when prosperity fades"? What happens when all that you've acheived suddenly disappears due to events you have no control over, such as economic breakdowns, depression, stock market crashes, etc...??
When it comes to knowing what our lives are about, there is no "Secret". God has revealed Himself to us, and He has told us exactly how to live our lives and truly feel fulfilled.
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2 COMMENTS:
Beautiful and insightful post! I truly enjoyed reading it. I was just at a function and some of us were talking about the end of times. If we live this life preparing for the next, then we will be ready for eternity with God. But to get this, it is hard work. None of those videos ever mention fasting, prayer, alms giving - everything is about "me." This is where the mistake is. We are nothing without God!
Hi Jennifer!
Thanks for commenting on my blog. I'm looking forward to checking yours out. I like the idea of doing something special for Veteran's Day. It would also be fun to include some activities in relation to Orthodox soldier saints (St. George, St. Dimitri, the list goes on . . .). I'm going to keep that in mind for next year.
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