I am very interested in the area of self-help and the impact of the self-help
industry (mostly books). When I think about self-help and Christianity
there are two different categories that come to mind- self-help books
written by someone that is a Christian and Christian self-help books.
Although one may not think there would be anything different about these
two categories, I personally have seen a large difference. In Christian self-
help books, they are written from a biblical world view, and they have a
basis in Scripture and ultimately point back to finding peace or fulfillment
or answers from the Lord and from the Word. In self-help books that are
written by someone who is a Christian, this is not always the case, often
times there is a brief mention of God or the author being a Christian but
all of the “help” solutions point back to things or practices that are not
rooted in Christ and do not always encourage the reader to look to the
Lord or the Word for answers, peace, or fulfillment.
((((((((((((I think that research when looking at the impact of the self-help
industry from a biblical worldview could look like looking more specifically
at the impact of self-help books that are based in Scripture and rooted in
what we as Christians know to be true because the Lord says it. In the
Bible, Hebrews 12:2 (2001) tells us to focus on Jesus and again in
Colossians 3:2 (2001) we are told rather than spending our time on
earthly things we should be focusing on the Lord. So, as Christians it is
important that even when looking for opportunities for improvement or
looking to learn from another’s experiences we must find resources that
have that same Biblical foundation and is rooted in the Lord and the Word.
(
References
English Standard Version Bible. (2001). ESV Online.
https://esv.literalword.com/
