Economist says the problem is glorifying the Self!

While blogging this morning I came across a very interesting blog entry called “Healing the Economy Means Going Beyond ‘What’s in it for me’” by Douglas Todd. He claims that one of the contributing factors that has led to the economic crisis is Pentecostal prosperity teachers, among whom, he says, Joel Osteen's is one of the greatest proponents, who have fed into the desire for materialism, in a word the glorifying of self. Following is a quote from his blog:

Spiritual insight into the economic collapse comes from Martin Marty, of the University of Chicago Divinity School, one of the most distinguished religious historians in North America.
Marty believes the economic meltdown grew out of a growing global obsession with the “self.” He points to the way many economists talk about how the “spreading disease” in the global economy will “self-heal.” But Marty believes the modern free world is fixated on terms such as “self-generating,” “self-developing” and “self-correcting.” It’s the kind of thinking that has led many to over-optimistically advocate for an “unfettered” and “unregulated” market that never impinges on the supremacy of the “self.”

Marty suggests Americans haven’t been willing to face the dark, shadow aspects of an economic system and foreign policy that focused on serving only the “self.” Marty says the battered economy is making us look at all aspects of what happens when “the self” is glorified as absolute.

I know this is an atypical blog for me, but couldn't resist sharing this insight.

Is Low Self-esteem the Problem?

As a counselor, I know that a good diagnosis is essential if we are going to develop an effective treatment plan. In Become a Better You, Joel Osteen premises his theory of “how to change” by diagnosing man’s problem as poor self esteem. In other words, it is all the negative messages a man tells himself that are the cause of mediocrity and failure. In psychology, these are called “self-defeating, destructive” thoughts. (The ‘psychological’ solution is called cognitive restructuring.)

As a Biblical counselor, I disagree with Joel’s diagnosis. The problem is not a low self-esteem. Thinking better of ‘yourself’ leaves you full of yourself. Exchanging a low self esteem for a better self esteem does not satisfy the “self” problem.

Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with the words: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” The poor in spirit are those who do NOT have a high opinion of themselves. Moses felt completely inadequate for the job God called him to do but God didn’t rebuke Moses for having such a poor self-image. Rather, He told Moses to stop focusing on his inadequacy and focus on God’s adequacy! David said, "Lord, who am I that thou should come to me?” Isaiah said, “I am a man of unclean lips.” These statements indicate “poverty of spirit.” These are people who did not esteem themselves highly. Judging them by today’s standards, we might say they had a problem with low self-esteem. Jesus seems to say the opposite of what Joel Osteen says. He says low self-esteem is a good thing.

How do we become 'poor in spirit?' The answer is that we do NOT look at ourselves. We do NOT begin trying to change ourselves. We do NOT even concern ourselves with who we are. But Who Jesus is! When Paul said "it is no longer "I" who live, but Christ in me", it does not sound like he was concerned with self-esteem!

What are You Hungry For?

I have been reading Martin Lloyd Jones' commentary on the "Sermon on the Mount." I thought this was just too relevant not to share with you all.

People in this world (non-Christians) are trying to live happy and successful lives. But to His followers, Jesus says, Blessed [happy] are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Jesus does not say we are to hunger and thirst after happiness. But that is what most people, and unfortunately, many Christians are hungry for...hmmm...the pursuit of happiness! Sounds like a basic human right!! But pursuing happiness will never satisfy. It will always elude you.

According to Jesus, happiness is not sought directly; but happiness results from pursuing Him, His righteousness, that is, a 'right relationship with God!'

How's your appetite?

How Did Jesus Define Success?

He who loses his life for my sake will find it…[and] I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father of mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake…who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time…and in the age to come, eternal life. Matthew 10:39; Mark 10:29-30

How I long to hear Joel Osteen speak of the blessing of giving up all that you have in order to receive the abundance that Jesus offers. How I pray he will talk about how he loves Jesus so much he is dying to have more of Jesus’ life. His teaching on God’s temporal and material blessings is not wrong. But his emphasis is. Jesus was not opposed to Christians having material things. He was opposed to temporal and material things “having” (controlling) Christians! There is a built-in danger to gaining much in this life and thinking it is a measure of our spiritual success. If it is so, we would have to conclude that the millions of Chinese Christians who live under great persecution and have suffered great losses (home, family, possessions, even death) are people of little faith and thus, are unable to receive the blessings of God.

The emphasis of our teaching should never be to consider our gains, but on how much we are willing to give up of material and temporal things in order to eliminate all competition in our hearts for Jesus. Watchman Nee once said, “In spiritual matters, our success is not measured in terms of gains, but in losses.” How much have you lost for Jesus’ sake? Are you dying to gain abundant life?

Even Hindus Love God?

Once again, Joel Osteen was interviewed (Glen Beck) with opportunity to represent Jesus. Unfortunately, it was not only a lost opportunity to do that, but his responses continue to be a source of great confusion.

When asked by Glen Beck why people of faith (clarifying not just Christians!) are fighting with each other (Glen used the word cannibalizing), Joel answered he did not know why. (Of course there is a biblical answer to that: the reason is mankind's sinfulness and self-centeredness -- James 4:1-2.) But what Joel said was most troublesome. As he did last year with Larry King, Joel said that he has been to India and he has met many kind and considerate Hindus. And Joel says, they love God too.

This is where the confusion comes in, because while Joel says he believes Jesus is his savior, his gospel message seems to include the Hindus who do not believe so. Of course you and I know that the Hindus do NOT love the LORD God Jehovah! They do not have one god; they have many, many gods. And theirs is not a god of love. Their gods are fickle, unpredictable, and can be assuaged only by good deeds, resulting in, hopefully, good karma for the faithful.

Although I have said in my earlier blogs that Joel says a lot of good things; this is not one of those times. Jesus said "If I am lifted up, I will draw all men to Me." Joel, you have missed another opportunity to lift up Jesus.

What is the Main Thing?

Every now and then I read something by Joel Osteen that makes me think what he is doing is really OK. And then I am reminded that the real problem is not that he doesn’t say a lot of good things, but that he misses the more important thing. Even the vital thing.

In his book “Become a Better You,” Joel is very clear in stating over and over again, that the goal of his teaching is to help his readers to become happy, fulfilled, blessed, reaching one’s full potential—the emphasis being one’s own personal happiness. I fear that so many people may be misguided to pursue good and noble things. But miss the main thing. What is the main thing? The goal of every pastor and teacher is this: our objective is to “present every man perfect [mature, complete, finished] in Christ” (Colossians1:28). Someone has rightly said, “the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” Success, happiness, prosperity are not the main things. Someone else has said “good” is the greatest enemy of “best.”

The Serpent says to Eve: You Can Become a Better You!

Satan's words to Eve in the Garden began with the promise "YOU" can be better. After asking Eve what God had said, he implies that there is more that God is not telling them. The serpent challenges the veracity of God's word by saying "YOU shall not surely die... For God knows [and did not tell you!] in the day YOU eat from it YOUR eyes will be opened, and YOU will be like God."

As I look at the "YOU's" in Satan's words, I realize that the temptation "to be like god" was accomplished by directing Eve (and then Adam) to look at themselves as independent beings, apart from God. The "what's-in-it-for-you" question separated their identity from God. And once they considered that they might actually exist as creatures apart from the Creator, their failure was sealed.

So it is today with the "YOU" message of Joel Osteen's books "YOUR best life now" and "Become a Better YOU" which can (shall I say inadvertently?) result in the same kind of departure from the Creator/Creature relationship from which we only find fulfillment. For we must not forget that only "in Him, we live and move and exist" (Acts 17:28). The allure of better things and the hope of self-improvement through self-effort is still a viable strategy of Satan to get even believers off-center.

Who Told Adam he was Naked!

In Become a Better You, Joel Osteen’s interpretation of “Who told Adam he was naked?” is significant in revealing the heart of Joel’s message. Joel says this is the “first” example of Satan as the “accuser,” that Satan caused man to look at his own inadequacy, resulting in man’s low self-esteem.

But Satan did not tell Adam he was naked. After Adam sinned, the Bible says his “eyes were opened” and he saw that he was naked. Adam and Eve’s nakedness is a symbolic, though real, picture of their “nothingness” apart from God. Without God, Adam had nothing. That’s what nakedness represents: deficit, inadequacy and nothingness. At the end of the Bible, in the book of Revelation, Jesus says to the church at Laodicea, “you think you are rich…and have need of nothing, and you do not know that you are…naked.”

Adam and Eve’s low self-esteem was not because they believed a lie by Satan that they were naked, i.e., deficit. No! They lost their good esteem because they lost God’s image. They really were naked! They were deficit! And realizing that, they became, for the first time, painfully self-conscious: self-centeredness was born. All they had left was their own goodness, but that only “separated” them from God. As self-centered persons, they became, in today’s psychological jargon, issue-centered. They began looking at their issues trying to fix them (too bad they couldn't have found a good 'psycho'-therapist!). And when unable to fix their issues, they tried to cover them up. And when that didn’t work, they tried to hide them.

If Joel is not careful, he will lead people to believe, like the Laodiceans that they are OK when they are not. Satan is not the reason for poorly esteeming ourselves. Sin is. Self is. Is Joel's teaching producing a Laodicean church? You be the judge.

The Danger of Self-Love

In Matthew 22:36, Jesus is asked: “which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus responded by giving two commandments: The first required whole-hearted love toward God; the second commands love toward one’s neighbor. Unfortunately, the command to love one’s neighbor as oneself is seen as two commandments, making the words “as thyself” into a third commandment—a mandate to love oneself. Let us be clear: Jesus is NOT giving us a new commandment to “love yourself.” Unfortunately, Joel Osteen in “Become a Better You” declares the opposite.

Most scholars believe that words “as yourself” are an assumption of self preservation and self-protection—the most natural of all human instincts. So Jesus was saying “love your neighbors” even as you take care of and protect yourself. Paul explains this in Philippians 2:3 “Let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not [only] look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Isn’t this the way Jesus loved us?

Why is this distinction important? Because self-love is man-centered. If we say we cannot serve God or love our brethren unless and until we love ourselves, then the foundation of our love is based on self—not God’s love. Paul says “Christ died for us while we were yet sinners,” clearly showing that our worth is established not by us, but by His love for us; it is His love that gives us value.

Martin Luther put it best: “God does not love us because we are valuable; we are valuable because God loves us” (the fourth thesis).

Making Your Words Work for You

From Become a Better You, Joel Osteen says, words are powerful. But the Word of God is more powerful. Men’s words speak to the mind, the will, the feelings. God’ words speaks to the heart—the deepest place in a man—the “command center.” They have an energy that works in a person's heart. "For the word of God is living and active...revealing the the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

And if so, shouldn’t Joel be more careful about what and whose words he encourages people to listen to? When God speaks, power is released. God’s words are spiritual. God’s words are life and give life.

How much better if Joel would teach that we can exchange negative words NOT just for “good” words, but God’s words as revealed in the Bible. Positive affirmations (“I am blessed;” “I am prosperous,” “I am healthy,” “I am talented,” “I am creative,” “I am wise”) have no power of themselves. At best they are wishful thinking. At worst, they may be lies (maybe you are not very wise!) Speaking words of affirmation that recognize “I” am somebody great seem quite meaningless as compared to the words of truth that affirm the power of Jesus in me? It is only Jesus who makes me “something.”

For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself (Galatians 6:3).

Set Your Mind on Things Above, Not on the Earth

In Become a Better You, Joel Osteen encourages his readers to aim for a higher place. I fear that his readers cannot reach the highest place unless Joel’s teaching creates a hunger in their hearts for God, not for the things on earth. There are wonderful benefits to living in the higher realm of spiritual life. But our coming in to this realm of spiritual life and vision requires a separation from the things of earth—the sensual and temporal things. When we live from above, we care less about promotion and affirmation. We think less of ourselves—not more.

What is “above?” It is the invisible realm of God’s presence: the faith realm. Paul declares: “we live by faith and not by sight” (1 Corinthians 5:7). As one of our old familiar worship songs says: “the things of this world will grow strangely dim.” Many “good” things must be set aside if we would climb higher. Paul tells us “If you have been raised up with Christ, [then you must] set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-2). As a pastor/teacher, this is what I would say to Joel Osteen:

If our teaching fails to create a hunger in our listeners for the “things above,” they will still long for the things of earth, and think that is the ultimate blessing of God. If so, we have not led people to the high mountain of God, but only to the foothills.

What Must I DO to be Saved?

Joel Osteen’s book “Become a Better You” begins by telling the reader what he must do to “be like God.” Significantly, the serpent in the Garden told Eve that in spite of already having been created in the image of God, there was something else they must “do” to be “like” God.

Since the Fall, man has been trying to recover the lost image of God by his own efforts. The rich young man comes to Jesus and says “I have done all of the law…now what must I do to be saved.” Any teaching that focuses on what you must “do” to become better is contrary to the truth: there is nothing you can do to be saved and nothing you can “do” to become better!

Nothing we do—no matter how many books we write or how many people attend our churches, or how many miracles we have done—defines us. Real change—being transformed into His image—will happen only when we are consumed with knowing and possessing the heart of Christ. In Christ, yes, I can do all things because it is Christ in me who is at work. But apart from Him, I can do nothing! Unfortunately, the lack of such a distinction in his book “Become a Better You” is going to trip up a lot of would-be followers of Jesus.

How Do You Define Greatness?

My son Joshua is a very gifted young man and will be an effective pastor some day. He’s the kind of person about which people say: “He's called to greatness.” By this they usually mean a large church, big budget, and high profile. Joel Osteen says we are created for greatness! Considering the size of his ministry, and judging by his focus on the “material” realm, I would say he defines greatness in a similar way. The real question is: How does God define greatness?

Think of Jesus' ministry: it started large—5,000 people or more—and grew smaller every day. “Many left him,” until only a handful of people were left. And most of those abandoned Him in His hour of need, His trial and execution on the cross. He never wrote a book or built anything tangible. He was hated and rejected by most people of his time. (By the way, one of the most disturbing features of Joel Osteen’s ministry is how much the world loves him!) No, indeed, Jesus’ life could not be measured by any temporal thing. By all outward signs, He was a failure—no greatness there!

We live in a culture that equates size with success. Bigger is better. God does not call us to find joy in the amount of work we do, or the number of people who are a part of that work, but in doing our work—whatever it is—for His sake. When Jesus prayed (John 17), He said “I have glorified My Father; I have finished the work He gave me to do.” Serving Him in a small place (which may seem mediocre to others) is not a stepping-stone to greatness. In God’s economy, IT IS GREATNESS!

Follow Your Dreams, Follow Your Heart, or Follow Jesus?

Unless believers have been trained by the Word of God, they will not be able to discern the will of God. And it is so easy for an immature or ignorant believer to presume that God’s promises are tailor-made to give him everything he desires. Equating these dreams with the “promises” of God, without knowing God, without knowing His Word, without walking with Him is not faith; it is presumption. God’s “rewards” are for those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6) and He will only “fulfill the desires” of those who fear Him (Psalm 145:19), that is, followers of Christ that have no will of their own, who only want to please Him.
In my years of counseling and pastoring, I have known too many people who followed their dreams right into a ditch of destruction—singles who convince themselves premarital sex is OK because found the person of their dreams; women who have divorced their husbands because they (their husbands) were not godly enough. One woman I knew believed that God was calling her to go to seminary and become a preacher. Her husband objected, so she divorced him. I don’t know how many times single people have come to me and said God told them to marry a certain person that they didn’t even know. Thankfully, it never happened. Too many people are thinking they hear God when they are really just hearing their strong desires.
Rather than encouraging people to follow their dreams, we need to help people follow Jesus. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God..."

Why Do You Follow Him?

I just got back from Seattle where I accompanied my son who is transferring to Seattle Pacific University. On the way back, I was stuck in the Seattle airport for 6 hours. While wandering around, I noticed that every book store had books called "You: Being Beautiful" and "You: Being Young, etc." I was struck with the bold emphasis on "YOU" and how much it parallels this 'new' Christian message today that tells "you" that "you" can be all the "you" want to be.

Unfortunately, too many would-be followers of Christ are caught up in this 21st century culture of self-centeredness. The “what’s-in-it-for-me” and “I-want-it-now” thinking is gaining ground in the church. It is not the biblical way; it is not the way of Christ’s disciples. Unfortunately, Joel’s teaching may lead people right into this trap, by telling them God wants their dreams to come true.

Many people followed Jesus and at one point in his ministry, thousands were coming to hear Him. However, these were not true disciples: they only followed Jesus for what He could give them. On two different occasions Jesus fed thousands of people miraculously. But they did not understand when Jesus tried to explain to them: “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.” And later when he said: “Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you have no life in you.” This was a turning point in Jesus’ popularity. Many who had been following Him for what He could do stopped following Him. Self-centered, “cultural” Christians will follow Jesus because of what He can do for them. When He demands their all, many will turn away.

What is Your Foundation?

I was talking with my friend Aaron yesterday about the importance of building a good spiritual foundation. I was reminded that when I worked in San Francisco, as I walked to work, I would pass these construction sites where a high rise was going to be built. These huge cranes would be pounding steel supports deep into the earth to support the structure that would be built. The principle is this: the higher one builds, the greater the need for structural integrity, which begins with a solid foundation.In his book Become a Better You, Joel Osteen challenges his readers to aim “higher.” While thus encouraging his readers, he does not, however, tell them that they must take the first step. A step that lays the foundation. What is the first step?

Jesus says the first step in laying a foundation is to: “deny yourself.” This is repentance! One time a “rich young man” comes to Jesus asking to be a disciple. Though he was successful, still there was something he knew was missing. “What do I lack?” is the cry of his heart: he knows he is yet imperfect. Jesus responds that in order to be perfect (fulfilled, mature, complete) the rich young man must abandon everything he is attached to.

That first step of obedience—to follow Jesus—is denying yourself, or repentance. It is a turning away from one’s self to God. Repentance is the confession of our failure and inability to do the things we want. Repentance is turning away from my own will to follow Christ. Jesus is saying this is the first brick of the foundation upon which we build.

Significantly, when the writer of Hebrews exhorts the believers to “press on to perfection [maturity, fullness, excellence],” he points out that repentance is the beginning; he calls it a “repentance from dead works [like the rich young man, it is one's own successes and accomplishments].” Until one realizes his abject poverty of spirit and failure of self, one cannot be expected to press on. “Let no man lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11).