Sounding a little like Himmler …

“That sounds wonderful, I’ll share it!” must be, at least in part, some of the naive thinking among many Christians who latch onto memes and other content from self-styled positive-thinking gurus without first checking the information.

For example, did you know a bulk of the positive-thinking babble is derived from mysticism, teachings from eastern religions, and even occultic sources?

A Christian should be able to look at several such memes popular today and realize they stand in stark contrast — and clear contradiction — with what we read in the Bible.

Take, for example, one of the most popular mantras that fool many Christians into repeating it – that of only having in your life people who support your dreams and goals, people who are cheerleaders for your ambitions, and people who don’t syphon off your time, talent, or treasure.

That sounds more like Himmler than Jesus.

Heinrich Himmler was the head of the Nazi SS, or “protection squadron” and a leading member of the Nazi party under Hitler. Himmler thought about people, and valued them, in much the same way so many of today’s leaders value them — only for what can be gained from them. In his book, “Rumors of Another World,” Christian writer Philip Yancey shares this snippet from Himmler about his valuing of others:

What happens to the Russians, what happens to the Czechs, is a matter of utter indifference to me … Whether the other nationalities live in comfort or perish of hunger interests me only insofar as we need them as slaves for our society; apart from that, it does not interest me. Whether or not 10,000 Russian women collapse from exhaustion while digging a tank ditch interest me only insofar as it affects the completion of the ditch for Germany.

While you may have balked at the idea of positive-thinking ideas being similar to thinking like Himmler, what’s the difference between Himmler caring about others only insofar as it benefited the Third Reich, versus you caring about others only insofar as how they contribute to your life instead of “distracting” from it?

How is either like what Jesus taught us — to love our neighbors as ourselves, to even love and pray for our enemies and to do good for them? How is the above thinking anything like the example of Jesus purposely, constantly stepping into difficult, messy, ungodly lives to love people and bring God’s message to them? Where does THAT kind of thinking and acting come into play among the teaching of just surrounding yourself with positive people who will lift YOU up?

To Himmler, the Third Reich was at the center of his universe and people were valued according to their worth to the Reich. To many people today, THEY are at the center of their own “universe” and people are valued according to what they bring to them.

All of this misses the point of who is really at the center of all things:

“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see – such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him,” Colossians 1:15-16.

When we set out to create a design for our lives where everyone and everything is brought into our lives in order to contribute to the realization of our desires, we’re playing God, attempting to make everyone and everything about ourselves.

That’s the same way Himmler thought.

We desperately need a deep and profound understanding that WE were made by Christ and FOR Him, and that’s the way our lives should be ordered. That should also shape and drive how we think about and value others — like Jesus who gave Himself as a sacrifice for others and NOT like the positive-thinking gurus who cast out anyone not contributing to the realization of their goals and dreams.

Both the Himmlers and the positive-thinking con artists (many standing behind pulpits) will teach you to feed your desires by chasing your dreams and dumping anyone from your life who gets in your way or just slows you down; God commands us to be transformed into the likeness of His Son who sacrificed for, and served others. We need a transformation of our desires to be the same as our heavenly Father’s desires. That great need reminds me of this story told by Mitchell Dillon:

When I was a boy, I always looked forward to our summer trips from San Francisco to West Texas to spend vacation time with extended family. My two younger brothers and I would pile into our un-air-conditioned car, anxious to begin the long trek across the Southwest. At the end of each day’s journey, the three of us would beeline our way to the hotel pool to re-hydrate — something we really looked forward to after hours of being blasted in the back seat by the hot desert air. These were great adventures filled with the excitement of seeing new places and the extravagance of eating out (something we never did back home).

One year during our journey, my youngest brother did something completely out of character for his normally compliant nature. Despite a tight budget and strict instructions to the contrary, James defiantly placed the same order every time we stopped to eat. “I’ll have what Dad is having,” he would insist. Apparently, my little brother had noticed that the plate of food placed in front of our father always looked a lot more appealing than the one typically placed in front of him. That was all it took. From then on, all he wanted was what our father was having. At five years of age, my little brother didn’t know much, but he knew that anything Dad ordered would be better than what he knew to order off the Kiddie Menu. Genius!

Instead of listening to those voices that teach you to lift yourself up and keep in your life only people who lift you up, we need to listen to the voice of Jesus who teaches us to deny ourselves and follow His example…

“Then he said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me,'” Luke 9:23.

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too,” Philippians 2:3-4.

“For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered[l] for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps,” 1 Peter 2:21.

So who’s thinking is your own thinking more like — Himmler or Jesus?

Scotty