The Insidious Deception of Self-Helpism

"The most important qualification for becoming a champion in anything is an intense, burning desire."1

This quote from Paul Meyer is the mantra I memorized when I was nine years old and repeated to myself several times a day for many years. I posted it on my bedroom and bathroom walls, and I listened to daily lectures designed to reinforce the message that if only I wanted something passionately enough, believed in myself confidently enough, and took the proper steps of goal-setting, visualization, hard work, and careful planning, I could attain anything. My success, my achievements, and my happiness were all up to me. Self-confidence, self-determination, and self-discipline were the keys to success in any endeavor of my choosing, and success was the key to happiness.

Other famous quotes from Paul J. Meyer, pioneer of the self-help movement and founder of Success Motivation Institute, include:

“What you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe and enthusiastically act upon must inevitably come to pass.”

“Plan your progress carefully; hour-by hour, day-by-day, month-by-month. Organized activity and maintained enthusiasm are the wellsprings of your power.”

Normal Vincent Peale, another highly-influential self-help guru of the 20th century, wrote in chapter one of his best-selling book, The Power of Positive Thinking,

"Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy. But with sound self-confidence you can succeed. A sense of inferiority and inadequacy interferes with the attainments of your hopes, but self-confidence leads to self-actualization and successful achievement. Because of the importance of this mental attitude, this book will help you believe in yourself and release your inner powers."

These quotes represent the doctrines of self-helpism,2 an insidious and unbiblical worldview that has infiltrated American culture. In fact, these beliefs are so common and so commonly attached to Christianity that church-going Christians may be reading this and wondering, "What's wrong with that?" So let's ask ourselves a few questions that might clarify the problem.

According to self-helpism (see quotes above), who must I believe in? What must I put my faith in? What is the key to happiness? What must I believe about myself? Who determines my steps? Who dictates my outcomes? From where does my power come? Who is the center of my focus and attention? (Hint: it's not the Lord.)

Self-helpism says I ought to believe in myself, put my faith in my abilities, and harness my self-confidence and enthusiasm to attain success and happiness. I must believe that I am great, that my efforts are enough, and that I am the one who determines my steps and my outcomes. Under self-helpism, I am the center of my own focus and attention, and I need only to look inside myself for the help and power required for success. In a very real sense, I am the god of my own life.

In contrast, the Bible teaches that we humans are weak, broken, depraved creatures, desperately in need of rescue. When we look inside ourselves, we find a deceitful heart,3 a debauched mind,4 a seared conscience,5 and a sinful and enslaved spirit.6 We seek after things that leave us empty, yet we can't fix ourselves any more than dead people can raise themselves to life.7 We need the Lord for everything, and any attempts to help ourselves apart from Him eventually prove futile.8 According to the Bible, true happiness is found only in the Lord as we stop focusing on ourselves and lose ourselves in our quest to glorify God.9

Don't get me wrong. There is great value in setting goals, visualizing ourselves doing hard things, and learning to discipline our thoughts and behaviors. In fact, self-discipline and hard work are biblical teachings.10 But God alone is our strength and our source of all power and goodness.11 He gives us life and breath and every ability we possess in order that we may recognize Him as the center of our lives, depend on Him, trust Him to establish our steps, and glorify Him in all that we do.12 He raises us from death to life when we look inside ourselves and acknowledge that we are not enough, but that we are helpless wretches in need of a Savior. He alone has the right to determine our purpose and our priorities;13 for apart from Him, we can do nothing.14 And He will not give His glory to another.15

Jesus tells us to lose ourselves,16 humble ourselves,17 deny ourselves,18 and die to ourselves.19 Self-helpism tells us to find ourselves, elevate ourselves, depend on ourselves, and (subtly) worship ourselves.

Under the influence of self-helpism, we may accomplish our worldly goals, we may earn status, money, and respect, and we may feel better about ourselves for a little while, but ultimately no amount of success, wealth, power, or accomplishment will satisfy and fulfill us apart from God. We will always want more, and nothing we do will ever be enough.20 That's because we were made to worship and enjoy the living God. He is the only source of true and lasting happiness, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Him.21

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[1] Paul J. Meyer. "The Making of a Champion". Waco: SMI International, 1981.

[2] For another excellent treatment of self-helpism, see Cannon, Teasi. (2019). "God Helps Those Who Help Themselves", in Ferrer, Hillary Morgan (ed.). Mama Bear Apologetics: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2019), p. 81-96.

[3] Jeremiah 17:9; Hosea 10:2; Ephesians 4:22; Obadiah 1:3; Jeremiah 49:16

[4] Romans 8:5-8

[5] 1 Timothy 4:2

[6] Romans 6; 2 Peter 2:19

[7] 1 Peter 1:18; Ephesians 2:1-5

[8] John 15

[9] Matthew 10:39

[10] 2 Corinthians 10:5; 2 Timothy 1:17; 2 Timothy 2:3-6 ; Romans 12:2

[11] Psalm 28:7; Isaiah 12:2; Exodus 15:2

[12] Jeremiah 17:5-9; Proverbs 16:9; 1 Corinthians 10:31

[13] Matthew 6:33; Numbers 14:21; Habakkuk 2:14; Psalm 8:1; Philippians 2:10; Ezekiel 43:2; Revelation 18:1

[14] John 15

[15] Isaiah 48:11

[16] Matthew 10:39

[17] 1 Peter 5:6

[18] Matthew 16:24

[19] Matthew 10:38

[20] For an excellent treatment of this subject, see Tim Keller's printed sermon, The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness (Ackhurst, England: 10Publishing, 2012).

[21] St. Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, ~400 A.D.