Jeremiah 6:14 “They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace.”
1 John 2:21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
This is an issue which has “stuck in my craw” for a long time. It really bugs me when I hear preachers playing fast and loose with the truth and telling people how they just need to keep a positive outlook and not loose their “happy thoughts” and everything will be fine. This sort of Peter Pan advice (if I may borrow from Billy Joel) reminds me of a series of commercials MTV ran a few years back. One in particular showed a guy in an elevator which all of a sudden starts plunging down out of control. His fear shows on his face but as he begins to listen to the Muzak playing he starts to forget his fear. Soon he’s got a smile on his face and he’s nodding to the music as he continues to plunge to his death…
Listen to just about any sermon today and at some point you’ll hear the benefits of staying “positive” and a warning against being “negative.” The concepts are so intricately interwoven into our culture that they are just accepted as givens. But is that how God wants us to view ourselves, the world in which we live, His Word, and the Gospel? What about the truth?
The Power of Positive Thinking
Just where did the whole concept of “being positive” come from? Those skilled in the art of persuasion throughout the ages have always realized the value of telling people what they want to hear. However, the one man most responsible for it’s insinuation into our culture would be Norman Vincent Peal.
Norman Vincent Peal was a Methodist minister who later converted to Dutch Reformed. He hosted a radio show called “The Art of Living” for 54 years and started the world’s largest religious magazine known as Guideposts. He died in 1993 at the age of 95, but he wrote over 46 books with his most popular one being The Power of Positive Thinking. It was written in 1952 and has sold more than 20 million copies in 41 languages. He was often referred to as “God’s Salesman” and pioneered the integration of Christianity and psychology with a strong emphasis on self-esteem.
Over the past 50 years the principles espoused in The Power of Positive Thinking have been accepted as “gospel” by sales and marketing people in all walks of life. They have proven their usefulness time and time again in persuading people to “buy” whatever they’re selling. As the church became more concerned with pragmatism than the integrity of the gospel, it began to integrate these principles into its approach. For those who have taken this path, the result has been phenomenal growth in both membership and income. That’s good isn’t it?
h/t Rich
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I see Rich’s point above concerning positive thinking. Let me be clear: our future is bleak. War is coming and we have to face reality. Everyone understands the power of a pep talk before a battle or even a football game at half time. Any leader understands how to motivate their people or soldiers. When the time comes to go into battle and the odds are not good, what leader will tell you that you are going to die and have no hope?
How do we lose? By division. How did Germany lose WWI? By a planned demoralization of their soldiers by Communist infiltrators. If you want to succeed in destroying your enemy, spread lies and discontent. I am not telling you to sugar coat the truth: I am telling you to spread the truth. And I am telling you to remove the negativity in your lives. If you want to believe that this advice is New Age garbage, go right ahead. The choice is simple: surround yourself with honest, moral people who tell you the good news or listen to the bad news without hope.
David DeGerolamo
