The Gospel of Self
Joyce Meyer has become a big name in the "word-of-faith" circles over the years. But she has also broken into the mainstream evangelical church with some of her more market-driven books. Despite being a woman pastor and a popular proponent of the "health and wealth" gospel, Meyer is a best selling author in the church at large. Her market is mainly women--typically, those who are insecure and looking for something better out of life.
This book, in particular, could have easily been written by Opray Winfrey or any other celebrity figure. The inside cover reads: "A self-esteem drought is plaguing America today, and many people find themselves in bondage to unhealthy living habits." Self-esteem and what I like to call, the Gospel of Self, has invaded just about every corner of the church. It's no longer about God and His glory, but about me and my self-esteem. The Christian market is ripe for these kinds of books and Christian publishers are all to happy to put them out. If there's a dollar to be made, then it will be made--it doesn't matter if it comes from a woman pastor or Opray, the market is always ripe for books that promise self-fulfillment, self-esteem, and success in life.
Knowing full and well that my righteousness is in Christ alone and that the sin in my heart is no better than what we see here, I am in constant prayer that the Lord would deliver me from myself. There is nothing more depressing than a self-centered life. We need to be discerning, in these times, about what we feed our souls. Does it exalt self, or does it exalt God? If we know who we are in Christ and if we know WHO HE REALLY IS--then nothing can move us. We don't need the latest self-help book, or the latest cult of personality book--we only need Christ and the knowledge of His grace and mercy towards us. May God deliver us from self!!!
posted by Shane McGrath at 10:01 PM
4 Comments:
Knowing who we are in Christ...why is that so hard to do? I have always struggled with feeling insecure, and growing up I was just always told that I had a low self-esteem. But, I was never told how to get out of it-how I needed to look to Christ. It was "but you're so pretty...you're so wonderful...". I always bought into this lie-until one day someone told me the truth. My issue was not self-esteem, it was PRIDE. If I wasn't so worried about what others thought of me, if I didn't think so often about me, I wouldn't have this problem! That really hit home. Now, my pride is not gone, and I still struggle with it daily. But, now I am seeking to know who I am in Christ, to focus on His thoughts towards me, and to focus on others. I find I think least about myself when I have others to focus on.
It seems this issue of self-esteem has pervaded the church. I remember hearing Robert Schuller say that Christ died for our self-esteem. Yikes! I think we are all sinners, and all a little too self-focused. Me first.
Thanks, Shane, for this article.
Thank you to both Shane and your commentator. You are right - when we are constantly directed to think about ourselves - we miss the grace and glory of God.
May God bless you indeed.
Someone I deeply respect once said, "He must increase and I must decrease."
I think that's the nail in the coffin!
Thanks Annie for posting.
I think that the main point of this post is that we need doctrine to come from the natural flow of scripture, not from what the market wants to hear. Self-esteem is not the answer to our problems...infact, it's just the opposite.
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