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The God of the Bible
versus the god of MLM
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Self-Love
Self-love-- MLM style The god of MLM holds a mirror to the face of man and says " Love yourself. Think good thoughts about yourself. Improve yourself. You are the key to your own future." Sadly, secular and so-called Christian literature is awash with self-help books dealing with self-love, self-worth, self-esteem, self-image and anything else you might concoct that has the ‘self’’ prefix. Even the ancient Greeks recognized the folly of self-focus through the tale of the mythical god Narcissis. According to Greek mythology, Narcissis was the son of the river god Kephissos. He was a vain youth, who spent most of his time languishing by the waters, staring at his own reflection in abject self-adoration. At length, dismayed that he could never love himself enough, he pined away, and for his arrogance the gods changed him into a flower, which still bears his name. The god of MLM uses God’s Holy Word as a springboard to justify a lifelong process of self-focus, self-help and self-actualization. It begins with the Biblical exhortation to " love your neighbor as yourself"-a paraphrase of Matthew 19:19 which says: Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. However, the god of MLM quickly twists the meaning and context by asking" How can you love your neighbor until you first learn how to love yourself?" This sets the stage for the purveying of every imaginable sort of self-improvement book, tape, video, seminar—all at a substantial profit for top MLM leaders. Here are some descriptions of just a few of the 90 self-help books on the book list of a large MLM training system: Self- Love ( Robert H. Schuller) "Realizing your goals and dreams begins with self-esteem. Rid yourself of doubts and build self-confidence and a new sense of self-worth. Learn that loving yourself is the secret of happiness in life, in love, in everything you do."
Building Your Self-Image (Josh McDowell) " Practical answers to help readers overcome their fears, anxieties, and lack of self-confidence. This book will show them how God's higher image of who they are can take root in their hearts and minds."
Psycho-Cybernetics (Maxwell Maltz) "The original, classic self-help text that defined the body-mind connection--the concept that paved the way for most of today's personal empowerment programs." The truth is that when God commanded us to ‘love our neighbor as ourselves’ He was well aware of man’s already insatiable love affair with self. The Bible’s first example of self-love The Bible gives us a record of the very first exercise of self-love and its inevitable result in Isaiah 14:12-17: How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? (Isaiah 14:12-17 AV)So much for positive affirmations. The five "I wills" of Lucifer are the spiritual grandfather of every self-exalting heart attitude of man. After all, we inherited this natural inclination to self when we were born. Its part of the fallen nature we inherited from Satan—the spiritual father of every person on planet earth who has not obtained genuine Bible salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
Our real worth comes from God Although the human soul is of inestimable value to God, we should remember that this value is not a result of any intrinsic worth—it is valuable because it is the object of God’s love. Consider these thoughts from the Bible that show us what God thinks of self-love, self-esteem and self-image: Ps 36:2 For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful. Ga 6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. Re 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: Throughout the Word of God, we see example after example of God’s choicest servants—not puffed up with ‘a healthy self-image’—but very cognizant of their origin from the dust of the earth. Ge 18:27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:Ex 3:11 ¶ And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? Ex 4:10 ¶ And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. 1Sa 9:21 And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me? Pr 30:2 Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man. Mt 1:7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. 1Co 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. God is our strength The whole self-love/self-esteem/self-image business boils down to just one inescapable fact: there is only room for One God of the universe—and that job is already taken. A realistic assessment of self has to admit that we are pitifully weak—nothing more than dust living on borrowed time. Our strength is not our strength, its Source is a loving Creator without Whom we can do nothing: Ex 15:2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him. 2Sa 22:33 God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect. Ps 28:8 The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed. Ps 46:1 ¶ <<To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth.>> God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Ps 73:26 My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. Ps 84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Ps 89:21 With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.
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