Go to your local Christian bookstore and what you will find is largely a bunch of self-help books that have a Christian theme. They will talk about "how to" improve your marriage, your relationships, your finances, your health, your depression, your sex life even. They will all talk about God, but they all are appealing to you to do something to help yourself..."in the name of Christ" of course.
This may be one of the very reason that the version of Christianity that is so popular is best described as a bunch of happy plastic people. We have taught people that Christianity is about you improving yourself with God's help. In the end we teach that it is all about you...your sense of purpose, your happiness, your well being, you, you, you.
I will say what I have said time and time again. If you were to pick one phrase to say what being a Christ follower is all about, it would be to say, "to follow Christ is about learning to die." It is not about how God can help you live better, but it is asking God to help you "die" a little more each say so that He can live in and through you.
It is to long to know him more than you long for comfort. It is to long to know him more than you long for him to know you and what you want. It is to long for God to teach you how to love you spouse more that you long for God to teach your spouse how to love you. It is to long to give more than you long for God to work to get you that raise you want. It is to be a single who learns to be content with God's love you before you go looking for love in all the wrong places.
In the end to be a Christ follower is to learn to die. It it to strive to understand how you can be less of who you have become and more like he always has been. It is to take a harder road in life, a road less traveled.
So make a step today (reach out to a co-worker, give something to someone in need, do something that is not about you, seek to know him)
Make life less about you and more about Him. In doing so you might find a cure for the self-help Christian mentality that is so contagious these days.
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2 comments:
Jerry, I just came upon this post and thought I'd respond because I just wrote a Christian self-help book.
I think that there is the essence of Christianity - which is to accept Jesus as Lord and make disciples of all men.
But in living in today's world, Christians are faced with challenges, obstacles, stress and stuff, which affects the way we express Christ in our daily life.
I also believe that the Bible is provided by God as a manual for life so we are to read it to learn about the nature of God, and his perspective on life.
When I was looking for direction for my own life, I turned to his word and received direction from the Creation in Genesis.
Now, 7 years after I first was impacted by the Creation, I have written a book to share this with others who may be similarly searching for purpose and a means to achieve what they believe God created them for in this life.
My book, as many others I have read, can provide direction, guidance, encouragement, clarity, etc to Christians as they seek to have the Lord be Master of their lives.
I can't see anything wrong with this?
Hey Liz,
I hope your book does well.
I know what you are talking about, but my point is simply that so often we look for a book to give us the great solution because that would be easier than loving someone that is unlovable, forgiving someone that has hurt us, etc. If the book lead to that great, and I think that most authors want that. However, so often the readers are looking for the next quick fix.
Example, Rick Warren. He wrote the biggest Christian self-help book out there, yet he is actually the one that inpsired this blog. I once heard him talk about the fact that we have have developed a self-help Christianity that is unhealthy.
Good luck with your book and hopefully it will help to cure our self-help Christianity and not strengthen it.
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