Rebuttal to the Modern Message

                                                         “Your Best Life Now” Board Game

The 7 steps to living at your full potential

Level 1 – “Enlarge Your Vision”.  The premise of this level is to look at ordinary objects and “see” things in them that others may not see.  While this seems harmless in and of itself, it’s simply an exercise that causes us to focus on ourselves, our innate abilities, instead of God.  ‘Enlarging’ our vision without using Godly eyes is futile.  God gives us eyes to see, we cannot increase our powers of perception on our own.  The unsaved has to rely on his imagination in order to ‘enlarge his vision’; and an imagination with no holy boundaries and no Godly motivation is a dangerous thing.

Deut 10:20-21 You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear.  He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.

Ps 141:8 But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless

“Be Thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art

Thou my best thought, by day and by night

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.”

Level 2 – “Develop a Healthy Self-Image”.  In this level, players are encouraged to look at themselves in a mirror and say something positive about themselves.  There are also question cards that make important, soul-searching queries of the players such as “Have you ever had a bad haircut”, and “What super powers would you like to have and why”.  This is nothing more than an exercise is puffing up ones own vanity.  Our self-image should not need to be developed or increased if we can truly say we are one of God’s children.  We know that we were created in His image, that we were created to give Him glory, and that he receives glory from us, despite how we may look to ourselves.  I Corinthians 6:19-20 – “Or do you knot know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?  You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body.”  The one who can look at Psalm 139: 13-14, with the eyes that God has given us to discern truth, can say he or she definitively has a ‘positive self-image’:  For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

The point here is that our healthy self-image does not come from external sources – it comes from the illumination of the Holy Spirit, reminding us of just who we are, where we came from, and why we are here.  Knowing these truths, who can ever seek any other sources for a self-esteem boost?

Level 3 – “Discover the Power of Your Thoughts and Words”.  Players here take a negative word and turn it into a positive phrase and feeling.  They have 15 seconds to come up with 3 positive relations for the negative word.  It is meant to show us how our thoughts and words effect our situations, and how we can use words to influence situations to our betterment.  Perhaps I’m reading too much into this, but given the 15 second time limit on this exercise, I can’t help but wonder if this is a subtle encouragement to respond without thinking clearly, merely using our impulses to respond to what’s before us.  This is encouraging a lack of discernment – something that is not Godly.  

Indeed it is true that our words and thoughts have an impact on ourselves and on others.  However, rather than blurting out the first thing that comes to our minds, we are instructed by Scripture to “…take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5b)

Proverbs 17:27 – Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

Our thoughts, regenerate thoughts, when centered on God and heavenly things, can do us service.  But, if left unrestrained, our thoughts can take us far into sinful workings of our imaginations.  I know that if I were to let my thoughts go and just sit and blurt out the first thing that came to my mind, I’d end up embarrassed and ashamed.

Level 4 – “Let Go of the Past”.  This level of the game encourages the individual to handle past situations on his or her own; implying that simply making a statement about your past and “dealing with it” is enough to reduce or eliminate any past issues.  God is the one who, through the inner workings of the Holy Spirit, removes the sting of our former days.  2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  We are a new creation if we’re in Christ.  Therefore there is no need for us to “deal” with our past, as it’s already been dealt with.  Christ took our former sins, our former life, and crucified it with him on the cross.  Something that we could never do on our own.  We, in Christ, have a level of forgiveness that we could never apply to ourselves to let go of our past.

Look at Hebrews 8:12 for another example of this.  The writer takes the passage of Jeremiah 31:34 and says, “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

We can also look at Exodus 34:6-7 for another example of God’s forgiveness:  “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

God is the one who forgives, God is the one who can “let’s go” of our past.  But note that he will not clear the guilty!  The Modern Message tells us that we CAN forgive ourselves, that we CAN let go of ourselves and clear our conscience.  Scripture tells us clearly that the guilty cannot clear themselves, and are therefore under God’s judgment.  

Level 5 – “Find Strength Through Adversity”.  This scenario uses the struggles of others as examples that we are to relate to.  Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Disney, Betty Ford, and (oddly enough) “Power of Positive Thinking” guru Norman Vincent Peale. Once we relate to these people, we can then overcome our own adversities by our own strength, tenacity, and perseverance.  The ‘power’ given here is the persevering actions of others, and drawing on their example.  No Christ, no Stephen and the martyrs, no Paul’s sufferings in prison.  No, the examples heralded here are secular people with their own business and financial problems, relying on their own strength to overcome.  The Bible tells us just the opposite, however:

Phil 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”

Psalm 18:39 – “For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.”

Luke 1:50-52 – “And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.  He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;

God requires our complete surrender.  He hates the proud and haughty who rely on their own strength.  God created us, he sustains us, he gives us everything that we need to endure whatever trial he is pleased to send our way.  Not so that we can avoid it, but so that we can go through the trying and purging fires and emerge with just a little bit more of the dross removed.  In that, God is brought glory.

Level 6 – “Live to Give”.  In this level, each participant is to write a promise to help someone reach his or her goals.  In and of itself, this seems fine, it’s a noble exercise, and the Bible encourages us to help others;  but the point of Osteen’s message here is that by helping someone else reach their goals, you will benefit from it as well.  In the book equivalent of this level, he goes into great lengths about “Emotional Bank Accounts”, and the positivity that is given back to you when you are positive with others.  The motivation then becomes “giving to get” rather than “living to give”.  This is now nothing more than vain flattery and double-mindedness.

Psalm 12:2 – “Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.”

Proverbs 29:5 – “A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.”

We receive blessing from the Lord when we approach him in faith; not when we vainly pledge our support to others so that we may receive blessing though our works:

James 1: 5-8:  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

One who relies upon his vain works is one who doubts and does not exercise his faith.

Level 7 – “Choose to be Happy”.  While we are endowed with the ability to make choices and decisions, it is a life in Christ that brings true happiness.  The motivation behind this level is that we can cause our own happiness by things that are inherent within us.  Questions like “What do you do to make yourself happy?” and “What do your pets do to make you happy?” and “Where are you most ticklish?”

Expanding on Phil 4, to include verses 11 and 12 – this describes Paul’s ‘secret’ for contentment:  “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

Isaiah 52:7 “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."

Which makes you happier?  Puppies and tickles, or knowing that God reigns?  Knowing that God has purposed us for salvation, and that no matter what trials we may endure, he knows what is best for us.  We can then put our complete focus and trust on him.  We can turn to him for strength, for knowledge, for wisdom, for contentment, and for joy.

Contrast this to the Modern Message – that encourages the individual to look upon himself for strength, comfort, and self-esteem.  This modern message of Joel Osteen contains nothing of Christ, nothing of salvation, nothing of sin, repentance, judgment, or faith.  Wait, I’m sorry, it is worthy to note that if the player cannot do what is required of themselves in the allotted time, they can use a “Have Faith” card to get them through the round.  You’re probably thinking that the “Have Faith” cards might have inspirational quotes from Scripture, be some of the Psalm poetry.  Sorry, no.  Rather they contain Joel Osteen quotes from his own book.

It’s easy for us to look at this, consider it, and shake our heads – maybe even chuckle.  There’s also a temptation to think little of it, and say, “It’s harmless – what’s the big deal?  Aren’t you just getting worked up over nothing?”  On the contrary, it is a big deal.  It encourages self, it encourages confidence in the flesh, and it uses vanity as its root source for power, and likens God to some sort of heavenly cash machine that dispenses blessings at our beck and call.  This is about as far removed from Christianity as one can get.  Yet, it’s selling out millions of copies, Mr. Osteen sells out tens of thousands of seats every week, peddling this positive thinking, happiness and wellness material.  We should be taking it very seriously.  The people who are drawn into this are drawn into a lie that is no different than any other cult; and these are the people that we will be witnessing to.