Integrating Your Christianity and Secular Personal Growth

A few years ago I drove down to South Florida to visit some clients for a few days.  My wife (Shannon) suggested that I check out this marriage podcast called Rise Together by Rachel and Dave Hollis.  I realize Rachel Hollis is now a controversial figure, but this was before all that happened, and that podcast had a profound impact on me.  Between the drives to Key Largo and back, I listened to all of the episodes (there were only around 10 back then) and I received my personal introduction to the idea of personal growth.  (And before we move on yes I do realize that was a marriage podcast from a couple who are now divorced.) 

So I started listening to various podcasts on personal growth and related issues.  Then about a year ago I was driving with some friends in Texas when we decided to listen to an episode of the All-In Podcast.  That podcast features four billionaires and friends discussing financial markets, political issues, and various other subjects.  I found it fascinating and I’ve continued to listen.  That’s not really a personal growth podcast, but it does include advice and thoughts on a wide range of issues, and it’s somewhat similar to podcasts for improvements in your financial life.

Personal growth is not a new idea, and really the entire self-help industry is the same thing.  In short, everyone can make specific changes to improve every area of their lives.  Now that statement sounds obvious, but the personal growth industry thrives by teaching people exactly which changes to make.  As you probably know, personal growth and self-help gurus now abound, offering advice for every area of our lives.

Like you probably, I listen to a number of podcasts.  My Apple Podcasts library is a mixture of personal growth personalities and Christian teachers.  The personal growth personalities can be very dynamic and persuasive, offering a lot of practical advice for our lives.  The same is true of the Christian teachers, but of course they offer guidance based on the Bible’s teachings.

Given my own experience with personal growth, and the prevalence of these teachings in our society, I want to talk about correctly integrating these teachings into your Christian life.  And before I continue let me add that these ideas will help with any secular influences in your life, not just the self-help gurus.  So we will talk about entertainment a bit as well.

About 10 years ago I strongly felt that God wanted me to read The Canterbury Tales.  Now that may sound very strange, but given that I basically majored in old British Literature, it wasn’t that strange for me.  So I read the book and I realized why God wanted me to read it.  When you just read a couple of the individual tales, as I first did in college, you might not see this, but the dominant theme of The Canterbury Tales is the power dynamic between men and women, especially in marital/adult relationships. 

While the Bible certainly discusses that subject, and God tells husbands to love their wives and wives to respect their husbands, the book helped to highlight the importance of this issue to my mind.  God used the book to point me to something He wanted me to think about, and to remind me of His teachings on the subject.

I read a lot and take in a lot of content, and God occasionally directs me to secular content for various reasons.  But here is the first key point, while God directed me to The Canterbury Tales so I would think about a subject, He wants me to obey His teachings on that subject, and not the teachings of anyone else.

As you are consuming your secular material, God must remain your primary teacher, especially from the teachings in His Word.  You must never allow anyone else’s teachings, from any source, to influence you against the teachings from God’s Word.

Just as some examples, many personal growth personalities believe in all sorts of self-affirming statements and ideas that don’t necessarily agree with the Bible.  Do whatever you want, believe whatever you want, pursue whatever you want.  Many of them don’t believe that Christianity is the only way to God, and many of them don’t believe in God at all.  Many of them, Rachel and Dave Hollis included, don’t believe in a Biblical definition of marriage and proudly support gay marriage.  Rachel Hollis has also made some other comments which have gotten her into trouble with various groups.  I don’t know all the specifics, I just know it happened.

So while I certainly wouldn’t agree with everything Rachel Hollis says, God did lead me to read two of her books, Girl Wash Your Face and Girl Stop Apologizing.  I know that sounds crazy and that those books are written for women, but I felt strongly that God wanted me to read them.  God absolutely used those books to set me free from what other people think about me and to show me that I must start boldly speaking what He gives me to speak. 

As you probably know, both of those ideas are 100% Biblical.  Galatians 1:10 says, “if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”  Matthew 10:27 says, “what you hear in the ear, preach upon the housetops.” 

I would also agree that I shouldn’t have needed those books to get those messages, that God’s Word and Spirit alone should have been enough to get me there.  All I can say is “I’m sorry God, but thanks for finding another way to get me the instructions.”  God has done that a number of times for me, where He has used secular content to get me a message that lines up with His Word. 

As you consume your secular entertainment, your podcasts, your self-help books, or whatever, you must be very careful to guard your thoughts and your mind.  Remember God’s instruction in Philippians 4:8, “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

In my opinion, that is a very high bar and a very difficult instruction, especially because the world is filled with things that both don’t measure up and want to dominate our thinking.  But that’s exactly why God’s instruction there is so important.  We must focus our minds correctly.

We must guard our minds and our hearts.  We must consider what is coming in through our eye gates and our ear gates.  Remember, your heart is a garden where God’s Word wants to grow and produce in your life (see Mark 4), you must protect your garden.

I’ll come back to self-help in a moment, but let me briefly discuss entertainment.  I was an English major, and primarily I studied old British literature.  Shakespeare, The Canterbury Tales, The Faerie Queen (famous British book), Beowulf, Ivanhoe, etc., I really enjoy all of that stuff.   So, of course, I thought I would love Game of Thrones. 

I watched one episode of Game of Thrones and that was it.  I knew there was no way God wanted me to watch that garbage.  In case you haven’t seen it, the first episode includes two instances of incest, the murder of a child and some serious gore.  I don’t care what anyone says, that show is ungodly, and I couldn’t imagine God wanting me to watch that for any reason. 

That doesn’t mean I never watch “R” rated movies (although it is pretty rare), but I really do filter my entertainment and stay away from things that truly defile one’s mind and heart.  One night, not long after I saw that episode of Game of Thrones, I was teaching Wednesday Night Bible Study to a large group at my church.  I told the people they shouldn’t watch shows like that.  And would you believe it, one of the pastors actually scolded me.  He was worried I would offend people because he knew so many people in the church watched that show.  Well that just goes to show you.  I don’t know exactly what it goes to show you, but it shows you something, that’s for sure!

OK enough about that.  Let me give you another example of some personal growth material that has really helped me.  Author Steven Pressfield is probably best known for The Legend of Bagger Vance, but he has written many other books, including The War of Art and Turning Pro.  The War of Art and Turning Pro are phenomenal books which encourage creatives to diligently do their work consistently and habitually.  They teach those of us who produce creative content, like my blog and podcast for example, to focus on regular output and routine practices, and that these will improve our work and increase our opportunities.  He also does an amazing job of describing forces that hinder and derail our creative callings and output.

Those books, when combined with the freedom to speak that God brought me through the Hollis books, have had a huge impact on me launching out with my own material.  I learned of those Pressfield books through Tim Ferris, who is famous for The 4-Hour Workweek.  I don’t think Tim is a Christian, and he talks a lot about all sorts of goofy stuff, including his life’s mission to make psychedelic drugs available for all sorts of medicinal purposes.  Look I don’t know anything about that personally, but it’s not a subject I’m interested in.  However, Tim’s podcast and writings are full of helpful processes, products, hacks and advice that we can use to improve our lives.

As you consider your intake of these secular materials, you must consider your time allotment between them and your Christian materials.  Sometimes these secular materials, whether they are entertainment or matters of personal growth, are enjoyable because they provide a different perspective, entertainment or just a break from your heavy Christian diet.  But we must make sure we aren’t overindulging in that which isn’t spiritually nourishing and that we are appropriately consuming what is.

I like the concept of “buy-in.”  I’m not much of a card player, but in poker you sometimes have a buy in, which is an amount of money required to enter a tournament, like an entry fee.  I think it’s good to give yourself a buy in before you consume any secular content.  Listen to an Andrew Wommack or Joel Osteen podcast before you turn to Tim Ferris.  Spend 30 minutes in the Bible before you pick up your current read.  Give God the first of your entire life, including your discretionary content consumption time, and then allow the Holy Spirit to have control over your other content.  We need to make sure that we have the right balance in our diet, and you can never have too much Bible or spiritual teaching.  However, you can definitely have too much secular content and not enough Bible.

We also need to be willing to turn something off.  That happened to me a few days ago when listening to a particular podcast.  One of the speakers was highlighting the Christianity of a particular person, but the other speaker really didn’t like that, and wanted the subject of religion ignored altogether.  That was enough for me.  Ironically, they were discussing the subject of identity, the importance of how you see yourself.  That is a very Biblical idea and an extremely important concept.  But if you are actively excluding Jesus from the discussion, then I consider myself excluded as well.  If you are actively embracing unbiblical teachings then I cannot embrace your teaching.

And I think it’s really hard to always draw the line correctly, and to make decisions for all of your content, especially in this world with unlimited content of every variety.  You really should check with the Holy Spirit regularly and make sure you feel His peace as you approach any secular content.  If you happen to feel God leading you to something that you wouldn’t expect, go ahead and check it out and see what happens.  If you feel God leading you away from something you want to consume, just turn it off and let it go.

Last week I read a Christian book by a well-known Christian author.  I found the book both informative and edifying.  However, some of the book’s content subtly suggested to me that the author and I would disagree sharply on a few issues.  I considered throwing the book away unfinished.  As I thought about it, I decided that the book’s good content was positively impacting me enough that the book was worth finishing.  I can ignore some disagreeable points when I feel the Lord encouraging me to continue with the material.  But when you are really sensitive about your content, those decisions aren’t always easy. 

Ironically, that particular problem comes up much less with secular content.  With secular content you expect some ungodly opinions and unbiblical beliefs, so you approach secular content with your filter turned on already. 

Now say, for example, that you hear some financial advice on a podcast, and you consider acting on it.  If you have been listening to the All-In Podcast for a year or so, you might remember that Chamath basically saw all of the current economic problems coming (including rising interest rates and low securities pricing), and for the most part he advised against buying anything.  Arguably he advised we should sell many different investment types in late 2021 early 2022.  For the most part that was good advice for me, and to a certain extent I listened to it.  But that doesn’t mean it was good advice for everyone, and it may have been contrary to what God was telling some people to do.

God wants His people to thrive and increase and expand even in times of recession.  God wants us to show love even when people hurt us.  Many of God’s ways run contrary to the world’s ways.  A huge amount of God’s wisdom runs contrary to the world’s wisdom.  And this principle must be remembered, especially when listing to secular personal growth materials.

(Jeremiah 17:5 NIV) – "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord.”

(Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV) - "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

(Proverbs 14:12 KJV) – “There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

This world literally bombards us with content and advice.  What should you eat?  How should you spend your money?  What should you wear?  Who should you hang out with?  What is the appropriate relationship with your family members?  On and on we could go.  Sometimes secular sources give good advice and this is most often when the advice is based on a Biblical principle or idea.  Sometimes secular sources give good advice because they correctly interpret the current economic or scientific data, for example.  But sometimes, for a variety of reasons, secular advice runs contrary to God’s Word, to God’s specific directions for you, or both.

As I do admittedly consume several podcasts and a lot of content, Proverbs 3:5-6 remains the guiding light of my life and decision making.  “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

As I’ve said before, you must spend time with God to stay tuned into His frequency.  You need to let Him guide every area of your life, as He wants to lead you into your best possible life, in every area of your life.  You must submit your entire existence to God.  You must let Him lead you.  And you must do what He says regardless of what any self-improvement guru would say about it.  As Job said, “though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”  (Job 13:15)

What should happen is that, as you draw closer to God, spiritual and Biblical materials become more attractive and engaging to you, and secular content becomes less appealing.  So you are left with the paradigm that you predominantly feed on spiritual and Biblical materials, and then you consume secular materials as God leads you, and as you feel peace just for basic entertainment purposes. 

Personally I think one problem we have, for lack of a better word, is that there seems to be a real separation between spiritual and secular content.  I would love to hear some devout Christian podcast about financial markets, economics, politics, fitness, relationships, etc., and then also reference Scriptures and Biblical teachings on all of these subjects.  I don’t mean the same canned responses and diatribes we’ve all heard.  I mean some real Biblical and spiritual analysis to today’s issues.  That probably exists and I just don’t know about it.  Let me know if you can recommend anything.  But until we have solid Christian content in every subject that we might want to consume, or at least until we know about that content, many Christians will continue listening to secular teachers and opinions on a variety of subjects. 

We need to make sure that God and His Word always have first place in our lives and our thinking.  We need to stay away from teaching that violates God’s Word, even if we occasionally listen to that teacher on another subject where they offer good advice.  We also need to make sure that we have a steady diet of spiritually nourishing content.  We need to stay tuned in to the voice of the Holy Spirit to guide every area of our lives. 

Secular content and even secular personal growth materials aren’t bad per se, but they must be kept in their proper place.  The Word of God must act as the foundation and gatekeeper of your mind.  We may be exposed to lots of ungodly thinking and teaching, but they must be intentionally excluded from your personal mental framework.  You must guard your heart from them. 

We are Christians in every sense of the word.  We think Christian, act Christian, learn Christian, teach Christian, marry Christian, parent Christian, work Christian, live Christian, you name it.  Some personal growth materials, even some secular such materials, can help our Christian lives.  But that’s what I’m after and that’s how I approach this content I consume.  Can I integrate this correctly into my life for God?  My life is dedicated to the Kingdom of God.  Is this material going to help me in God’s plan for my life?  If so, then great.  If not, I’m out.  And that’s the way I think it should be.