The Real Secret of Happiness - 1/27/08
Many books over the years have claimed to provide a way to achieve happiness, whether through wealth or fame or healing or material things. One of the most recent ones is called “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne, featured on Oprah and now made into a movie. So, what is this so-called secret?
There is a hidden, untapped power within you. That power operates through the Law of attraction – a law of nature, mightiest power in the universe. Everything coming into your life is attracted to you by the images you hold in your mind. People who draw wealth - their predominant thoughts are of wealth, they know only wealth, nothing else exists. We are the source of what comes into our lives. We create our lives with our thoughts. To think good thoughts we have to feel good.
Avoid people who do not meet the image of how you want to be – if you want to be healthy avoid sick people, if you want to be wealthy avoid poor people.
For support of these ideas the author uses passages like Mark 11: 24, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” If you look at the immediate context of this verse you see that Jesus begins with having faith in God, and the asking is according to God’s will not our own.
1 John 5: 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
At first reading the Secret may sound good. What’s wrong with positive thinking? With further consideration, however, it becomes evident that there are several problems with this philosophy.
It’s focus is on us – everything depends on our thinking, etc.
It focuses on our wants – not our needs, or what God wants.
It ignores present reality.
There is another book that’s been around for a long time that does provide the way to true happiness – the Bible.
Jesus tells us not to worry about things like food or clothing or what tomorrow will bring. He assures us that God knows what we need and will provide them.
Philippians 4: 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious
riches in Christ Jesus.
God loves and cares for us.
The key to our happiness, therefore, is to seek God’s kingdom, to seek to know what God wants and then to do that. In the garden even Jesus prayed that not his will but God’s be done.
Seek – persevering effort, continual
First – top priority
Much of God wants has already be told us in the Bible.
We have been given the Holy Spirit to be our teacher and guide in everything else we need to know.