Joel Osteen is one of the most well-known and popular religious personalities in the nation. In 2004, he wrote the book, Your Best Life Now, which was #1 on The New York Times Best Seller list. It remained on that list nearly four years and sold more than four million copies. Who knows how many people have read the words that he wrote? He is the latest successor to Norman Vincent Peale and Robert Schuller. He appeals mostly to the power of “positive thinking.” What is dangerous about the book is that he mingles truth with error so that his teachings sound almost plausible and convincing—unless one looks a little deeper than the surface.
Well, okay, but did none of the other contestants envision themselves as winning? In fact, the following year after Osteen published this book, what if all the contestants read it and imagined themselves as winning? With only one young woman to crown, there must, of necessity, be 49 disappointed ladies who “conceived” of victory and “believed” she would have it—but lost anyway, which is one reason this type of psychology cannot always work.
Another example involves Roger Bannister, the first man to run the mile in less than 4 minutes, something that Osteen alleged that “experts” said could not be done. Why would they say that? If someone could run the mile in 4 minutes and 2 seconds, what is so hard about believing he could do it three seconds faster at some point? Nevertheless, Bannister was the first to set the record on May 6, 1954. He beat it by six-tenths of a second but had only trained minimally. That record lasted only 46 days before another runner broke it. The current leading time is far better than Bannister’s 3:59:54. Hitcham L. Guerrouj flew through the mile at 3:43:13—more than 16 seconds faster. Noah Ngeny is almost a half-second behind at 3:43:40.
Osteen tries to make a point regarding the original breaking of the record. Bannister believed he would do it, and he did. Okay, but then he added these words:
Within ten years after Roger Bannister broke that record, 336 other runners had broken the four-minute mile record as well! Think about that. For hundreds of years, as far back as statisticians kept track-and-field records nobody ran a mile in less than four minutes; then within a decade, more than three hundred people from various geographical regions were able to do it. What happened (29)?
His answer is (try not to laugh) that all the runners up until Bannister believed the experts! “They were convinced that it was impossible to run a mile in less than four minutes” (30). Right! So, how did that work? As they are coming down the backstretch, did they all experience a wave of defeatism and talk themselves out of breaking the record? If their efforts were of no use, what were they racing around the track for in the first place? Surely, no one seriously believes such a theory. Did Osteen ever think that running techniques improved—or training—or diet? Besides, some records stand more than 50 years once they are set. Everybody knows it is possible to achieve it, but no one beats it for decades. Positive thinking may be helpful, but it is not a panacea for attaining excellence.
Besides giving examples that people ought to be able to see through, Osteen will cite a Scripture. Unfortunately, he often twists it to mean what was never intended. Take, for example, the first one he mentions. He claims that God wants to pour out “His far and beyond favor” (5). The allusion is to Ephesians 2:7, which reads thus in the New King James: “that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace [far and beyond favor?] in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” The verse describes God’s grace extended toward all mankind with respect to salvation and the spiritual benefits we have in Christ. Whatever translation he is using remains a mystery, but once having mentioned the phrase, he will keep referring to God’s “far and beyond favor” as though the phrase had some sort of validity.
Another such example involves God saying: “Behold I am doing a new thing. Do you not perceive it?” (10). This reference is to Isaiah 43:19. In the remainder of the verse, God says: “I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” According to the Pulpit Commentary, Isaiah 43:19 refers to God leading His people back from captivity. The passage has an historical context, which Osteen ignores entirely. Here is his application: “God is ready to do new things in our lives” (10). He wonders if people are perceiving what God is individually and personally doing for them. In other words, are you making room for the possibilities God is setting before you in your own thinking? “It’s time to enlarge your vision.” None of these things relates to Isaiah 43:19. Osteen forsakes the context and just lifts out of it a phrase he likes.
He does the same thing again on the same page. He points out correctly that Christians do not need to depend on their own power and their own might. If he had referred to Ephesians 6:10 about being “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might,” he would have had a point—had he applied it to fighting the Lord’s spiritual battles. But instead he writes that God is telling us something similar to what he told the Virgin Mary—that the “power of the Most High God shall come upon you and cause it to happen.” Seriously?
When the power of the Most High came upon Mary, she conceived and bore Jesus, the Son of God. Does anyone besides Joel Osteen think that God is bringing that kind of power upon us? How can he even think of comparing the two? This is the result of reading pop psychology instead of studying the Scriptures. For someone to claim that kind of power, which resulted in the unique birth of the Son of God, not only suggests megalomania, but it borders on (if it has not snuck across the border) blasphemy.
Then Osteen tops this off with, “If you believe, then all things are possible” from Mark 9:23 (11). Once again, the author ignores the context of the passage in order to rip an idea from it—whether or not it is applicable—as a general operating principle of life, which it is not. In that marvelous event, a man came to Jesus, describing the condition of his son, who apparently had seizures. They brought him to Jesus, and the poor lad convulsed right in front of them. He asked the father how long this behavior had been occurring, and he answered, “From Childhood.” (v. 21).
The distraught father pleaded with Jesus, “But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us” (v. 22). It is at this point that Jesus tells Him that if he can believe, all things are possible. The man honestly cried out: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (v. 24), whereupon Jesus healed him. This problem had been lifelong. The father wanted to believe something could be done to help his son. He had certainly heard about Jesus. Did he dare believe that Jesus could heal such a persistent problem? Yes, God is great in His power. Honestly, he did have some doubts, however. He need not have worried. What an account of a great event, in which a man is strong enough to overcome reservations.
However, Jesus is not saying that whatever you conceive and believe will occur. He is not saying, for example, if a woman believes she can be Miss America, she will attain that achievement. God has no obligation to make that happen (especially when she wears immodest clothing). Nor is God necessarily going to arrange for a bank to grant someone a loan for a college education. No Scripture promises a happy marriage when someone has chosen a mate who is unreceptive to God (despite all the wisdom and warnings of friends). That is not to say that one’s personal circumstances might not undergo improvement (and with God’s help, depending on the person’s motive), but they are not what the passage refers to.
The graduating senior (on her way to pick up her high school yearbook) struck and killed by a truck was hopeful and ready to enter her future that for her came to an abrupt end. Nobody expects to be hit and killed by a drunk driver—especially in the afternoon. No one expects to be called down to the principal’s office for possessing marijuana in school—especially when the student suspected is not a user. (Someone planted it.) The point is that things occur despite any positive expectations we might have.
Once again, Osteen notices that Jesus says, “According to your faith…be it done to you” (14), which is part of a conversation Jesus had with two blind men when He healed them (Matt. 9:29). As with the man whose son suffered from epilepsy, what Jesus did constituted a miracle. This is not merely an example of conceiving and believing. Neither of these events involved being healed by doctors in the providence of time because of a positive outlook. How many are deceived into thinking they will have what they desire if they just believe they will receive it?
The author continues by referring to what Elijah told Elisha—that if he saw him ascend into heaven, he would receive a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Osteen’s conclusion is: “If you can see it, you can be it” (18). First, this was a specific promise to a specific person made on one occasion—not a general principle, such as a proverb would be. Second, Elisha did not visualize anything; he literally saw Elijah’s ascent. Yet Osteen immediately continues by talking about visualizing something—seeing it with your “spiritual eyes.” Elisha saw this occurrence with his physical eyes.
Another of Osteen’s favorite sayings is that “God will pay you back double for your trouble,” which is based on “a twofold recompense for our former shame” (31). Isaiah 61:7 states: “Instead of your shame you shall have double honor….” Does anyone want to know what the context of the statement is? This is another post-captivity passage, in which God promises His people that they will have double their former glory, as well as possessions. These words may also have a Messianic fulfillment, which is indicated by the first verse of Isaiah 61, which is quoted in Luke 4:18-19. If Osteen insists on stealing verses out of context, he ought to at least say that intense suffering and repentance must precede the wonderful blessings that come afterward. No, none of us will be holding our breath on that one.