Every Friday, I volunteer for an hour at my local library, and one of today's tasks was to make the shelves look neater. I went down many of the aisles, pulling the books forward and putting them in a straight line. It sounds tedious, but it is actually quite satisfying for someone as OCD as I am.
The first aisle I straightened, incidentally, was the self-help section. Some of the books looked interesting, like one on the brain science behind decision-making, but overall I was sickened. Lose weight! Stay sexy! Fix your relationships! Be happy! Be successful! Make more money! All I saw were the titles, but the messages they screamed came through loud and clear.
There is nothing inherently wrong about self-help books. It can benefit someone to read a how-to book on buying a house, learning punctuality, losing weight, redecorating inexpensively, succeeding with better business strategies, or improving their relationships. The problem is that these good things are turned into prerequisites for a worthwhile existence, and the books meant to help you improve an area your life therefore claim to help you find happiness.
God created us to find happiness in Him, and though these books might contain some helpful practical advice, the solutions they give are not soul-satisfying. The happiness they offer is cheap, the view is self-centered, and the result can only be further dissatisfaction.
The secular books, though they were well-meaning, were empty and godless. They offered fleeting hopes in things that can never ultimately satisfy. It grieved me to think about all of the people who buy into our culture's fruitless attempts to offer the happiness that cannot be found anywhere but Christ. These books won't fix your life, and their seven step plans will fail. What then? Do you grow cynical and declare that there is no happiness to be found, or do you run out and buy Oprah's latest book in hopes that she's had a new discovery?
My heart grew even heavier when I reached the area where the Christian self-help books were shelved. Although some books in that category do point people to the source of ultimate satisfaction, overall they are no different. They are not about God, but wholly focused on you. They are all about fixing your problems and having a great life here and now, not looking beyond to the source of true happiness. It's not about glorifying God, it's about being comfortable, happy, and well-adjusted.
Secular authors have an excuse. Those who claim to be following Christ do not. If an author has a personal relationship with God, then they have the secret all of the secular authors are striving for. Why settle for a mediocre seven point plan when you can lead people to the cross? There, the way that you look at the world is forever altered. Only then can you understand your life, your purpose, and begin to truly change.
No comments:
Post a Comment