Journeys of a Former Firebrand

I recently purchased a “self-help” book that was written in the last decade or so. It touted that, if you read it, it would improve your ability to alter your mindset, get things done and change your life. It came with a high reader score and sparkling reviews.

In short, it is an extremely popular book in our modern era. You would probably recognize the title if I told you. I will not.

I thought the book sounded like it had potential. And it was on sale for under a buck. What could I lose for pocket change?

The answer was my mind. Nearly, anyway.

For one thing, the book was hardly novel. It immediately dove into how important it is to claim who you are. And if you aren’t who you want to be, just say “I AM.” This will change your mindset enough. You will then be able to achieve anything. If you identify with the thing you desire, you will better your chances of attaining it.

I will admit, this is an overly simplified version of the first chapter. However, I felt so deeply betrayed, I wanted my pocket change back.

The thing is I’ve heard all this before. It’s nothing new, just something old repackaged for a “modern era.”

The “power of positive thinking” was a thing even before I was born. For a modern book to have such a fabulous reputation as being “new and improved,” it seemed like a repackaging of something. I have heard people saying it for the last several decades.

However, a bigger “problem” loomed in my mind: the “problem” of my Christian faith. Everything I know from the Bible on this subject grated against my mind. This isn’t a Christian philosophy nor anything a Christian should embrace simply because there is so much biblical material to refute it.

The most concerning issue is how often so-called preachers of the word teach a form of the “I AM” fallacy. It has invaded Christendom so thoroughly that some who claim to follow Christ don’t recognize the fallacies of this philosophy simply because their pastor said it was okay to believe this way.

The fact is the philosophy of “I AM” flies in the face of what the Bible teaches.

How so? Read on.

The Biblical Problem with I Am Statements

God’s name is “I AM.” That’s how He revealed Himself the first time to Moses (Exodus 3). In that encounter, Moses asked who was sending him to deliver Israel from the Egyptians. God said this:

“I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” (Exodus 3:14, NASB 95)

God’s name is “I AM.” In fact, the name Yahweh or Jehovah is a form of the verb “I AM.” In other words, God took this state of being verb to describe Himself as the all-existent One, the One who defines being.

As Christians, this should cause us to pause and reflect on the “I AM” movement. A philosophy that emphasizes a personal “I AM” statement runs the risk of confusing who we are and who God is. More on that in a moment.

The Practical Problem with I AM Statements

There’s a practical problem with “I AM” statements as well. They deny objective reality. If God is Creator, then He dictates what reality is.

If we believe we can change reality by simply wishing it to be so, we run the risk of denying what is objectively true. If we deny what is objectively true, we run the risk of denying what God has created. If we do any of this, we make God our enemy.

Let me give an example. The author went out of his way to say that the way we view people flavors how we interact with them. No issue with that. What surprised me was his suggestion that we must always see the good in people so that we view people in a positive way. If we do so, we can accomplish anything.

Bad advice.

We can’t change people by thinking differently about them. That is an objective fact. To say that we can make Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin or Mao Tse Tung different people simply by thinking it ignores the truth of the situation. These men were evil. If we feel any other way about them, we run the risk of becoming like them. This is so with anyone who does what is wrong.

I would love to ask the author if he thinks we can change child molesters or murders simply by changing the way we think about them. The answer is a decided no. They are who they are because they embraced evil. That’s their mindset, not mine. I can’t change them by simply changing the way I think about them. If I change the way I think about them to any positive degree, I take part in their crime.

This kind of mindset leads to an even deeper problem. We begin to think that we can create a reality that no one else can. This is the reason why people “identify” with a sex they weren’t born with. This is the reason why people “identify” with animals rather than human beings. This is the reason why society as a whole has begun to unravel.

When you think you can create your own reality, your own reality will begin to create you in its own image. And that’s never a good thing.

If truth is what you make it, then there really is no objective truth. What’s the problem with this? We as Christians know there’s at least one objective truth in the universe. It’s a Person, not a stale academic principle.

Jesus said, “I am the…truth.” (John 14:6, NASB 95)

Reality is a fixed quantity. It’s fixed by God. He owns it.

Caveat: It is true, we can change our situation in some small ways. Certainly, a positive attitude can change our health, for instance (Proverbs 17:22).

However, to say that a positive mindset can change reality is encroaching on Someone else’s job. Let’s take a look at that next.

The Theological Problem with I AM Statements

As we have seen, facts dictate reality. I can say “I am a pastor” because the objective reality of my life bears out that statement. Nothing proves that claiming that I am a pastor makes me that.

However, there’s an even greater problem. There’s a major component missing from that formula. God.

In fact, the “I AM” philosophy flies in the face of God’s supreme rule over His creation. It steals God’s glory. It abrogates God’s sovereignty.

How so?

First, it gives us the impression we have supreme control over our lives. And to state something contrary to the way God has made us and believing that is true simply because we say “I AM” is to replace God and vault ourselves to His place.

At this point, let’s look at the first sin committed by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) to get a better understanding of the fallacy of this philosophy.

Satan tempted Eve with “You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). In other words, Eve would no longer have to suffer under the unacceptable demands of a holy God, according to Satan. After all, it’s quite a nuisance to only be able to eat from MOST of the trees. That one fruit God doesn’t allow may be a real game changer. It could empower me to do so much more!

Satan sold Eve personal autonomy. Eve bought it. Adam bought it. We’ve been buying that philosophy ever since. To the detriment of society, of course.

Second, it leads us into a mindset that we too are God. Satan’s “You will be like God” philosophy also promised to replace God.

If God’s rule is no longer important to us, we no longer have any use for Him. After all, if I can wish things into existence with my mind, why can’t I simply take care of my own needs? Why do I need God?

This kind of philosophy ends in atheism. No atheistic system is compatible with the Christian faith. They are mutually exclusive ideas.

Third, it leads to sin. Eve disobeyed God when she ate the fruit. In that moment, she sinned, but it was because she allowed herself to be deceived by an “I could be God” statement. It was the same that Adam committed when he listened to his wife rather than God.

Finally, it leads to terrible consequences. For Adam and Eve, this sin meant their whole family would suffer. Paul explains that sin fell upon the whole human race because of what Adam did (Romans 5:12). All suffer because of Adam’s sin.

For us, those consequences could be a number of things. It could be as simple as jail time or a broken marriage. However, the final outcome is much more complex. Unrepentant sin leads to death (Romans 6:23).

If we want to be God, then we must deal with our sin and its consequences. If we don’t, the result is condemnation.

Satan told Eve, “You will be like God.” Eve interpreted that as “I AM God.” Adam followed along. People today are still trying to convince themselves of it.

Why would we want to repeat such a mistake?

So What?

As Christians, we may not remove God completely from life as the author of the book I was reading did. The unfortunate fact is that we temporarily remove Him when we forget to trust Him in faith. This leads to “I AM” statements that can be harmful to us because they deny the truth of who God is and how we relate to Him.

“I am talented” forgets where that talent came from.

“I am intelligent” forgets who creates that intelligence.

“I am as skilled metal worker” (well, that comes from a cartoon and isn’t important. For all you VeggieTales fans out there).

Ultimately, we have no right to say “I AM” outside of the will of God. Really, as Christians, we should be saying, “If the Lord wills” (James 4:15), if we want to be perfectly honest with reality.

“He will” not “I AM.”

After all, only God can deal with our sin problem. He did that through Jesus Christ, someone who constantly claimed the “I AM” title because He deserved it (see the Gospel of John). He sent His only Son to the cross to die in our place. On that ground alone, we should never want “I AM.”

He already did. We need nothing more.