and
T
Chris
he Secret is really no secret at all. Oprah talks about it, millions of people have purchased the book, and even Newsweek devoted a few pages to explaining it. This newfound phenomenon is a philosophical teaching surrounding the law of attraction, the belief that you invite things into your life based on how you think. Apparently, this so-called secret has been around for centuries and was utilized by many famous historical figures like Plato, Galileo, Einstein, and Abraham Lincoln.
H I G H E R
T H I N G S __ 12
So, what does this secret provide? Abiding by this law, according to the Secret’s official Web site, promises folks “the secret to unlimited joy, health, money, relationships, love, youth: everything you have ever wanted.”Who doesn’t want health, wealth, and unlimited joy, Christians and non-Christians alike? But it’s not that easy. How does one abide by this law? Visionaries of this philosophy inspire the buyers of their DVDs and books “to attract good feelings into their lives by controlling their thoughts, so they can focus on what it is that they desire.” For example, if you want to lose weight, be the star quarterback of the football team, or become a millionaire, you have to attract and invite good thoughts and feelings about these desires, and they will happen. This begs the question: what are the similarities between this secret and the practical wisdom we understand as Lutheran Christians? First of all, we can read all of God’s Word and know that God is all for us experiencing joy in His creation, even now. Galatians 5:22 says,“Now the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Second, good common sense (and Proverbs and Ecclesiastes) tells us how our attitude shapes the way we view the world and how the world views us. So, with these things on our side, are we on a parallel track with the Secret? Not at all! Instead, there are actually a lot of differences between the two. First, understand that God does not promote personal wealth, health, and success as the primary focuses in our lives. Conversely, the law of attraction is based on the idea that a person ought to work in order to control their thoughts to manifest and invite their
temporal desires. For instance,“You become what you think about most;”“Your feelings are where your power comes from;” and “Thoughts become things.” What is seemingly common sense starts to sound a lot like Luther’s Latin phrase,“En curvatus se” (i.e., a turning inward and relying on the self for all things). Furthermore, the Secret offers the notion that the individual has supernatural power, brainwashing people into thinking,“If something bad happens to me, I was attracting that bad thing to myself.” If that is the case, then how much control do they think we really have? A tender example of this would be telling the victims’ families of the Minneapolis bridge collapse that they and their lost loved ones could have avoided this tragedy if they had some preconceived, positive thoughts. Thankfully, we know that this is absolutely false. We do not have ultimate control, and thanks be to God for that. Finally, the Secret seeks to avoid all discussion of suffering because it does not attract good feelings. But as Christians, we have a unique ability to talk about that very thing. Suffering is unavoidable in this world, and that is why Christ, both God and man entered it, to suffer and die for our sins, rise and ascend with the Father. Our world became broken when Adam and Eve
