Not long ago here in North Alabama we had some fisherman who came up missing. One of these two men was a member of a very popular local band. As I checked to confirm to my husband if this was who we thought it was I also discovered something disturbing. At least it was disturbing to me and my husband. As the group asked for support and prayers they also asked for positive thoughts, tweets, and FB shares claiming that this would send positive energy out into the universe.
I wish I could say this thinking was limited to a rare few, but sadly in today’s modern America it is now common. I have lost count of the times I have seen this as I was scrolling through my news feed. So many asking for others to pray for them and send them positive thoughts. Sadly these words are even pouring forth from the lips and fingertips of those who profess to know Christ.
“The positive thinking movement and positive psychology derive from the New Thought Movement, at the origin of positive thinking.
This movement took place during the last part of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century mainly in North America.
Religious men (thinkers, philosophers, businessmen) started to write about the power of thoughts and positive thinking from a secular point of view.
The writing of several authors surrounds the origin of positive thinking. Their essays, poems and non-fiction writing were focused on the importance of thoughts and the mind: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ernest Holmes, Orison Swett Marden, William James,Emile Coue, etc.
The origin of positive thinking in our modern society is normally placed upon the publication of two books after the Great Depression in 1929: ‘How to win friends and influence people’, by Dale Carnegie, and ‘Think and grow rich’, by Napoleon Hill.
In 1952 Norman Vincent Peale published ‘The power of positive thinking’, which was a Christian version of positive thinking. Peale founded the ‘Guideposts’ magazine.
A great influence in the field of positive thinking is also Earl Nightingale, who published ‘The strangest secret’ in 1957, the first positive thinking audio recording.
It was initially created by Nightingale for his sales staff while he was away from the business. The strangest secret is “We become what we think about”.
Maxwell Maltz published ‘Psycho-cybernetics’ in 1960, in which he explains how the mind works and how to use positive thinking, and also proposes exercises to train the mind.
Positive thinking is applied to many different fields in the twenty-first century: in business and sales, in health, sports, children education, psychology, motivation and inspiration, self-image, or marketing.” (information gathered from a Positive Thinking Information website)
This positive thinking movement is rooted in an ancient Chinese religion known today as Taoism. Here is a little bit about this ancient religion:
“The lines above are the opening lines of the Dao De Jing (The Way of Power and Virtue Scripture, 道德经) that is the main religious text of Taoism. How to translate the words into English and what the words mean is obviously the mystery of Dao. The word Dao means Way. The Way of Life. The Meaning of one’s life. In usual Chinese usage, the word “dao” means path or road. Nowadays, the name Taoism is used as a general name for any kind of native Chinese religion or ancient belief. The term covers anything from Qigong or Tai Chi exercise, to ancestor worship, to belief in any of hundreds of gods or reputed immortal people, to martial arts, to healthful food recipes to Taoist philosophy.
On one hand, very few modern Mainland Chinese would say that they are Taoist if they were asked what their religion is. Usually, people identify themselves as without a religion or as Buddhists, Muslims or Christians. On the other hand, the philosophies and religious ideas of the many faceted Taoism are a part of Chinese culture itself and in the personal beliefs of hundreds of millions of people even if they identify themselves as Christian or Muslim. If they believe in Chi, the balancing of Yin and Yang, or venerate their ancestors thinking that their ancestors acknowledge or somehow need their veneration (that is, that their ancestors still exist), they can be called Taoists. Taoism is basically a term for China’s indigenous philosophies and religious beliefs, and as defined this way, it has always been China’s main religion that colors all the others.
Daoism is China’s oldest religion. At one time, the land called China was the home of numerous peoples with different racial origins. All these ethnic groups probably had their own special gods and religious beliefs. Over time, kingdoms and empires grew in various areas and started incorporating more and more people into them.” (information gathered from a China Highlights travel website)
Sometime between 52 AD and 62 AD a young man named Epaphras traveled to Ephesus. While there he heard the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed straight from the lips of a man named Paul. Epaphras believed on Jesus and was saved and he went home to Colosse and told those there about Jesus and the gospel bore fruit and many were saved.
Now Colosse was right slap dab in the midst of a world trade route. It was filled with people from many different cultures and religions, especially from eastern China. As a matter of fact it was actually a hub of eastern mysticism. Epaphras began to see an infiltration of this eastern mysticism into the doctrine of the church, it was called Gnosticism. Epaphras saw the danger, but being such a young believer he did not know how to fight it, so he ran to Paul for help. Therefore Paul wrote a letter to the Colossians. A letter that is just as relevant today as we now face the same exact spiritual cancer among our own.
Paul wrote,
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
Colossians 2:8
Beloved there is nothing knew under the sun. There is nothing new about this positive thinking movement nor the pursuit of knowledge as the answer to all things wrong in our world. It’s all rooted way back in the beginning with that conversation between Eve and the Serpent and the warning from God to not eat of the fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
The greatest lies are filled with mostly truth, but just as there is not enough health in an apple to keep a drop of TIMET from destroying you, it doesn’t matter the amount of truth the lie contains, if you believe it, just as if you ate the apple laced with TIMET, you will die.
For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Romans 1:25
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“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
Matthew 7:21-23
This is the way a false teacher and a false prophet work. They feed you mostly truth, but it is laced with a lie. If anyone preaches anything other than Christ crucified as your salvation, if anyone claims that you need Jesus and, if anyone declares to you that you need to go outside the Word of God to obtain growth in your spirit, if anyone claims that you need prayers and positive thinking, then beloved they lie.
You don’t need positive thinking, you need the Word of God renewing your mind (Psalm 119:97-99, Romans 12:1-2). In the letter to the Philippians, Paul writes:
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Philippines 4:8
But this verse is followed by:
The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:9
Positive thinking means nothing, practicing the truth of the Word of God however means everything.
Philippians 4:8 is also preceded by:
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7
Do not be deceived (Deuteronomy 11:16, 1 Corinthians 6:9, Galatians 6:7). Do not be deluded (Isaiah 47:10, Colossians 2:4, James 1:22). Do not allow anyone to defraud you of your prize that is yours in Christ, if you are indeed in Him (Isaiah 29:21, Colossians 2:18)! Precious one, your prize is Christ and He is all and is in all. Absolutely nothing is needed outside of Him.
There is none true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable but Christ Himself. Think on Him and all of His benefits (Psalm 103:2, Psalm 116:12). If you have Him you have everything and beloved the only thing that you have to send to anyone else to help in their time of need is Him.
Your positive thoughts are meaningless.
For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9
Your prayers are meaningless if they are not lifted up in the Holy Spirit and laid in the trustworthy hands of Christ.
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
Romans 8:26
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Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
Romans 8:34
You don’t need Jesus and an experience.
You don’t need Jesus and positive thinking.
You don’t need Jesus and a prayer cloth.
You don’t need Jesus and exercise.
You don’t need Jesus and a seminary degree.
You don’t need Jesus and a healthy diet.
You don’t need Jesus and an angel.
You don’t need Jesus and a vision.
You don’t need Jesus and an offering.
You don’t need Jesus and anything.
You just need Jesus.
In Him is everything.
Just take a moment and read through the book of Colossians and underline every single occurrence of the phrase, “in Him” and see for yourself.
Oh beloved, let us not send our “positive thoughts” out to anyone, let us send out the sure promises of our God!
For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—was not yes and no, but is yes in Him. For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.
2 Corinthians 1:19-20
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