The Law Of Attraction with a Twist
(A Completely Different Perspective)
By Paula N. Quick
During the past year I have come to the shocking conclusion that whenever I meet someone who starts quoting scripture to me the moment they open their mouths, I need to be on guard. While that person may be claiming that they are “blessed and highly favored,” there is a good chance that person is hurting deeply inside and the scripture is just a cover for the person’s real feelings and they’re not really getting it. They may also turn out to be people with whom I don’t want to be associated.
In fact I am reminded of the following scripture: Above all else, "guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23).
Couple that with “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things. Whatever you have heard or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9) and you have a good Christian formula for working with the Law of Attraction.
Interestingly enough, there is much debate in some Christian circles about the Law of Attraction. It is a concept that has been around forever, but which came to the fore with the publication of the wildly popular book “The Secret” and the ensuing massive publicity on the “Oprah Show.”
The “modern” definition of the Law of Attraction says that we attract into our lives what we put our attention, focus and energy on, whether wanted or not. In other words, what we think about we bring about. There are some very well-meaning Christians who will come back saying that the Law of Attraction isn’t Biblical therefore it doesn’t exist and is somehow anti-Christian. They say there is nothing in the Bible that says the Law of Attraction. Well, of course not. Would you really expect to see the words Law of Attraction in a book written thousands of years ago in different languages, no less? That’s like saying the law of gravity doesn’t exist because the word gravity isn’t in the Bible. Well, try jumping out of a window and see what happens!
Regarding the Law of Attraction and the Bible, you WILL find “as a man thinketh, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7. You WILL find “For the thing I feared has come upon me and what I dreaded has happened to me.” (Job 3:5) and you WILL find “whatever a man sows, so will he reap.” (Galatians 6:7).
Beloved, these verses ALL say the same thing - what you think about or focus on becomes your reality! The principle goes back to the beginning of time and is stated very clearly in the Bible.
I titled this article “The Law of Attraction with a Twist” because one of the mainstays of applying the Law of Attraction is to avoid negativity and things that put you into a low vibration or energy. If our goal is to stay in a high vibration, to put our attention on what is noble and pure, then that is going to be very hard to do if we are reading about or hearing the latest bad news all the time.
It was for this reason that for a year, I made a point to virtually avoid most secular news information vehicles – giving up the late night talk shows, only reading the entertainment and food sections of the newspaper, and forsaking the nightly news. Instead I turned to Christian broadcast programming, keeping one station on virtually all the time, thinking that I was doing something really big, obedient and good.
In recent months I've habe been I invited to give several talks about the Law of Attraction. As part of my research one of the things that grabbed my attention is something that the late Lynne Grabhorn wrote ("Excuse Me My Life is Waiting" a classic Law of Attraction book). She said that anything you focus on for 16 seconds (good or bad) begins to manifest in your life.
Well, about a month ago I had a big a-ha moment. The Law of Attraction with a twist is that while I was steadfastly watching RELIGIOUS programming, most of those programs are actually focused on negative things -- what people DON'T have in their lives (lack of money, lack of relationships etc., lack of a home, lack, lack, lack).
Paula White and Joyce Meyer go on and on about how they were abused, messed up, etc. Most of Mark Chironna's programs (and I really LOVE to hear Chironna speak) deal with some big heavy problem that if you weren't thinking about it -- you are now. The "in your face" promos during his program all deal with some big hairy and scary problem or issue. On the positive side, of all the televangelists I think that Joel Osteen is the most upbeat as far as living your life is concerned, as well as my favorite Gregory Dickow with his 40-day Thinking Fast. I also enjoy Creflo Dollar, who lays it out very loud and clear as far what your thoughts should be and infuses a lot of humor into his messages.
Nevertheless, as a result of a preponderance of negativity, I decided to cut back on watching religious programs because I realized that over the past year I really started to focus on the more negative things in life (what I don't have) versus what I DO have. I also found that for the first time ever, I actually found doubt, fear and worry creeping into my life, emotions that never really bothered me before, praise God. Moreover, I believe when you walk around thinking that life is just one big spiritual warfare battle and that demons are everywhere, it can (Law of Attraction) put you in that mindset and attract unexpected negativity into your life. In other words, I found that my life started to take a bit of spin after a year of watching these programs rather than being lifted higher.
I was involved in a couple of bad alliance fiascos that I'm not sure were just some transmutation of a negative focus from watching these programs that dwell on people having hardships versus people who are experiencing blessings. Of course, I totally get the "testimony" part -- adversity before blessing, repentance and all. I just think that at the end of the day, rather than being uplifting, some of these ”religious” programs are really downers from an Law of Attraction standpoint because so much of the focus is about going through hardships. While, yes, the Bible says we will endure hardships, there are many people who live perfectly happy, healthy lives that are not weighed down by a constant focus on hardships. Thoughts of hardship, past, present or future are not what you want in your "Vibrational Bubble," as fellow Law of Attraction expert Michael Losier would say. And God doesn’t want them there, either.
“Do not be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7).
And if that is not enough, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what will you wear. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds in the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” (Matthew 6:25-26).
So now, rather than watch so many of these programs I am focused on listening to my favorite music and ta-da -- going to the original source -- reading the Bible and truly focusing on all the positive and good in my life versus constantly hearing about poverty, illness and lack. For it seems like "dwelling" on these things from a religious programming standpoint is no different from reading and hearing all the negative news in the secular realm, either.
The most successful people I know and read about, focus only on positive things and outcomes (going back to Whatever is pure, noble, of good report, etc. Philippians 4:8)) and have cut negativity to the core -- on all fronts. Think Oprah Winfrey, think Donald Trump, think anyone who wins the Olympics. They’re not walking around downtrodden and feeding into things that create fear, anxiety and worry.
In closing, we as Christians need to really start claiming God’s promises for us to the depths of our souls and stop walking around quoting scripture that just sounds good without really grabbing a hold of the power in those living and magnetizing words.
Finally, I would like to leave you with two powerful thoughts. As you go about your day “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will worry about itself. (Matthew 6:34) and remember to declare good things for your life with “My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long.” (Psalm 71:8)
May your life be filled with peace, love and joy!
Editor’s Note: Paula Quick is a Christian Certified Life Coach, specializing in helping small business entrepreneurs develop a spiritual foundation for their businesses. Her websites include: www.thefaithpreneur.com as well as www.thelemonadecoach.com. She may be contacted at onyourfeetcoach@aol.com
© 2008 Paula Quick. This article may be forwarded, copied or distributed to others only if it contains the title and author as shown above, along with the websites of reference: The Faithpreneur and The Lemonade Coach.
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