MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU.
There will never be another STAR WARS. What a blockbuster movie franchise. By some estimates, the saga generated more revenue from toys and “merch” than from films and DVDs. The whole world jumped on board. We bought the tickets, we bought the tee shirts, we bought the Millennium Falcon, we bought the philosophy.
Yes, the philosophy. “Use the force, Luke.” It was weirdly cool in 1977 and maybe it still is—but is there any truth to it? What “force”? You’re telling me there is a force out there in the universe, some impersonal energy that will help me pull the trigger on my X-Wing Fighter and blow up the Death Star, if I can reach a state of Zen-like calm during battle (as pictured above)?
You may recall that Anakin Skywalker who later takes the name Darth Vader has history’s highest number of midi-chlorians in his blood, and passes it to his children. Thus Vader later says of Luke, “the force is strong with this one.” Yet, even on May 4th, you won’t find Obi-Wan Kenobi in a hooded robe talking about Midi-Chlorians, the microscopic life-forms that connect Star Wars characters to the Force. No one speaks seriously of the Force. Instead they call it “The Law of Attraction.”
Those who promote the so-called “Law of Attraction,” whether Oprah, Osteen, Steve Harvey, or Jim Carrey, explain that if you speak positive things into the universe, the universe will send positive things back to you, and if you speak negative things, negative things will come to you. They argue that “like attracts like.”
First, one concession: there is nothing wrong with positive thinking. Optimism and hope certainly have their place. And “visualization”? I admit it: standing over a golf ball and imagining your swing is helpful. That kind of visualization works, just like imagining a difficult conversation before you have it.
But the thought, the “visualization” just before swinging a golf club is a rehearsal, not some hocus-pocus negotiation with the universe (which is not listening anyway). The problem with the law of attraction is that it assumes the universe is PERSONAL and that the universe is LISTENING. But how? The universe is an impersonal arrangement of various created things. Do trees listen to you? Or air? Or soil? Rocks? Plants? Or George Lucas’s make-believe midi-chlorians?
Only God is personal. Only God is listening. Everything else in the universe is a created thing. We are commanded to worship the CREATOR, not the creature. We do not pray to the universe—and the universe does not listen. It requires only the most cursory reading of the Bible to see that God will not tolerate those who worship His creation. We are required to worship Him alone. Yet the law of attraction says that either God is listening to everything we say, a Heavenly waiter trying to fulfill our wishes, or God created a universe that listens and responds to whatever we “manifest.”
Do you MANIFEST? Can you speak and believe really hard and somehow MANIFEST your desires?
Can insisting on a specific outcome make it happen? Can you command the universe to do YOUR will, simply by refusing to accept any other result? (How’s that working for ya’?) You cannot. Sometimes, things go your way, other times they don’t. God is not a genie and you are not Aladdin. He is the Sovereign King of the Universe.
The Ancient of Days, the Almighty Maker of Man’s First Breath is not here to make MY dreams come true. I am here to serve His plans.
Consider these arguments:
“You can’t trust the universe to bless you just because you’re putting out positive vibes. Indeed, because the universe is a created thing, it has no power at all to either bless or to curse – that power belongs to God, alone. In the end, this belief is just another futile attempt to manifest happiness and prosperity through one’s own efforts.”
“There is a scientific basis for visualizing an action before performing it, and how that makes you more likely to succeed. This is different from visualizing yourself winning the lottery, however.”
“Law of Attraction proponents teach that you can overcome sickness and poverty, etc. if you let your mind conquer your body. But God’s Word teaches that he is the Creator, who is sovereign over his creation (Colossians 1:16). If you’ve ever had the stomach flu, you know that all the positive thinking in the world isn’t going to get you out of it. You can’t manifest a cure for cancer. Instead, we must turn to God the Creator and trust him in both good times and bad.” [1]
“For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and things on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or powers, or rulers, or authorities. All things have been created by Him and through Him and for Him” Colossians 1:16.
God is sovereign. Bow before Him. Present yourself to Him to do His will. Pray as Jesus did in the Garden: “Thy will be done.” THAT is the only thing you need to “put out there” into the universe. Otherwise, believe in the so-called “Law of Attraction” if you must, but don’t pretend that the doctrine is Christian. It is not.
ΑΩ
[1] From “What is the Christian Perspective on the Law of Attraction?” available at https://newportbeachchristiancounseling.com/articles/what-is-the-christian-perspective-on-the-law-of-attraction/
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