The following is an excerpt from There’s More to the Secret by Ed Gungor
OK. Before I get started, I have a confession to make. I’m an apprentice of Jesus Christ, and though I am a fan of Rhonda Byrne and her team’s treatment of the law of attraction, I am a critical fan. I am very excited about what Byrne has communicated in the 2006 best-selling self-help book The Secret, and the film documentary of the same name. But at the same time, I do not start or end in the same philosophical place that the book does. For example, I do not believe that human beings are evolving into gods; we will always need God. Neither do I believe that humankind can self-save; we need a Savior. I believe that Jesus Christ knew this so-called secret, but he still had to die—the concept alone will not save us. Further, I feel that Byrne and company left too much room for material greed, social apathy, and the blaming of victims for the horrific events that occur in their lives. (I’m not suggesting that was their intention, but it is still a problem.) This does not mean, however, that I don’t think the book has many good things to say—it does. In fact, I want to spend the bulk of this writing expanding on the treasure that it explores. We’ll talk about the problems as we go along.
What Is It?
We only have one shot at life. Consequently, I think we should write our lives large—we should decide to matter. This idea helps us do that. It touches every aspect of our lives—from our finances to our health to our relationships. When understood, it unearths the hidden, untapped power within each of us—pagan or saint.
This is not some complex, hard-to-grasp idea. It is simply the law of attraction. This law, plainly stated, is: Everything coming into your life is the result of what you have been attracting to your life. Your life is not the way it is by accident; it is the product of cause and effect. In a sense, how you live your life is a magnet, which draws the events that occur into your life—both good and bad.
Though this may sound scary at first (everything is my fault? ), what a great discovery it is! This means that you and I have a lot to say about how happy our lives can be. When we learn how the law of attraction works, we can “work it” to keep the good things we enjoy coming into our lives while refusing access to the bad things.
But is that really possible?
There are many who believe that whatever is destined to be, will be. They think that humans have nothing to do with the future; that is God’s sphere. Things only happen, these folks contend, because of God’s sovereignty, and human beings don’t really cause anything to happen that God wouldn’t have done anyway. This group would argue that our thoughts, beliefs, and actions are more of an aside, because God will do what God will do, irrespective of what humans do.
But if God had really wanted to create a world where humans couldn’t control things, then why did he create a world filled with laws—laws so specific and predictable that we can send a person to the moon and predict within a fraction of a second when he or she will land there? What if God created laws precisely so that we humans could have more control over our lives? The great apostle Paul claimed, “All things are yours, whether . . . the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours.”1 In another place he wrote, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”2 Continue >>
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