From the Pastor's Desk for October

Dear Lighthouse Church:

This month I am moved to write about one of the “modern” ways to preach the gospel known as the “self-help gospel." This appears in many televangelist messages. Most often it makes no reference at all to Scripture. Sometimes it does. I happened to see a TikTok of Joel Olstein recently in which he quotes Jesus but out of context twisting the meaning to shape it to a “self-help” point. That same sermon has many other out-of context and even incorrect citations. For those of you unfamiliar with him, he is the son of a televangelist who inherited a ministry which has grown into an international, multi-billion dollar enterprise off the donations of his followers. Besides his “self-help” messages he also preaches “prosperity gospel” which I have mentioned in church sometimes.

If you have sensed that I oppose these false teachings, you are correct. I want to shine a spotlight on the unbiblical nature of these false doctrines. The self-help genre of books and videos is incredibly popular and broad reaching. There are self-help methods for everything from decluttering to being more productive at work to learning confidence to improving one’s health, and the list goes on. The desire to improve oneself is laudable since it recognizes that we are imperfect creatures living in a world that is less than that for which we were intended. However, self-help aids miss the point. Humans are not in need of self-improvement. We need a Savior. This is not to say that all self-help methods are inherently bad; simply that anything that emphasizes self to the exclusion of God is off the mark.

The Bible is not a “self-help” guide. The Epistles do not discuss feeling good about yourself or improving your mood. It does promise that we can have peace and affirmation of our salvation through faith. It even discussing being joyous. The means of finding peace, joy, self-assurance, and such is faith in God not something we can do for ourselves just by our own effort.

I recently saw a Joel Olstein video in which he quoted Jesus as saying: “No one can take away your joy.” Olstein was using this quote to explain that everyone is in control of their own mental state, He said if someone cuts you off in traffic, Jesus says that person cannot “take away our joy.” But what does the Bible say and in what context. Olstein’s source is John 16:22: “So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”

The context is not “being aggravated by someone” and then losing your “joy.” Jesus’ audience is the disciples. The occasion in which Jesus makes this declaration is his impending crucifixion and the disciples’ possible loss of joy in mourning him. The “joy” he says cannot be taken away is the “joy” from Christ’s resurrection. This passage is not centered on the individual or based upon how one feels about themselves or controls their own mood. We as followers of Jesus find our joy through him not our own modern understanding or “self-help.” As Proverbs 3:5-6 says:

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.

God Bless, Pastor Eric