DO YOU!

there is a new book on the shelves called "Do You" by russell simmons. now i've not read it so i can only go off of what he said about it in his interview with oprah the other day. i felt i needed to get something off my chest in regards to this and what better audience than my fellow bloggers! i undestand that simmons does not know jesus as his personal savior, so i'm taking that into account when critiquing his "world view."
simmons talks about his journey to success. and that it is rooted in this concept of "Do You." summerized, he i s saying that you have to figure out who you are, get in touch with what you love, focus on yourself, and go for what it is you are good at. now, this concept is tempting to buy into, but it just so happened that the same week i saw this, i was studying "break away" by andy stanley with my home team. i was just confirmed about the concerns i had with this when i listened to him. there is so much of this going around. have you heard of "the secret?" all these books are geared around the concept of getting in touch with yourself, being your best, understanding the "laws of attraction." now don't get me wrong, i beleive that there is alot to be said about speaking truth over your life, but not when it has only to do with your own wisdom and self discovery, because this contradicts the Bible. the only "truth" we should be speaking is God's Word. we are danger of being pursuaded by a very powerful concept and if we don't know the truth, we could find ourselves compromising. the problem i had with it is that God never said "do you" he said "do Him through you." we are supposed to be taking on the likeness of christ and through that we become who God created us to be. through that process we find what He created us for, the gifts and talents HE gave us, and how we can use those things to worship and glorify him. So if that means you are a preacher, singer, cpa, designer, salesman, teacher, or stay at home mom, your purpose is to be all you can for his glory, not yours. see the contradiction? andy stanly spoke in his daily devos about this. there is a pattern of transformation that should take place in our lives, but it should start with self - discovery, which should bring us to the realization that we are sinful and nothing with out God. then as we give ourselves over to our creator, he gives us instruction on how to "transform our minds" (romans 12:1-2) in order to have "break away thinking!"
this takes a lot of humility and trust and this is where simmons and others like him are so wrong. they beleive all trust should be put into ourselves. WRONG! dead wrong and very dangerous. just try putting all trust into "you" and see where it gets you. a life of bad decisions, remorse, and unsatisfaction. Live god's way, conform your mind to his, live according to His plans for you life and you will find yourself content and at peace. And you can't get that in a book! Only the Living words of the Bible!
so, i challenge you to listen carefully the next time you hear these words..."do you." they are a crafty illusion created by the enemy to remove you out from under God's umbrella of protction.
I pray we can all know the "truth" so that the next time a counterfit is put before us, we can recognize it and defeat the enemy!!