Self help is an oxymoron.
A popular quote from folks who don’t know any better says, “God helps those who help themselves.”
No He doesn’t. God helps those who come to the end of self and realize they can’t help themselves and only God can. Even in recovery groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, Alanon, and ACOA the first step is: “admitted we were powerless over (our addiction) and our lives have become unmanageable.” Does that sound like self-help to you? To me that first step to recovery for the addict sounds like coming to the end of self. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Whether it’s an addiction or stress or worry or adultery or financial problems, or runaway children or troublesome relatives or abuse and family violence no self-help book is going to get to the root of the problem and cure it.
Why? Because self-help books only address changing behaviors. We have spawned a multimillion dollar industry fueled by men and woman who have gone to school all their lives instead of working and now have an alphabet behind their names. The alphabets make them best selling authors telling people they’ve read about how to fix their emotional, psychological and social problems.
The self-help (self-improvement) industry raked in a record $13.9 billion (with a “b”) in 2010. Consumers spent another $10.5 billion (with a “b”) for motivational, “self-improvement” programs, products and services “that seek to improve us physically, mentally, financially or spiritually,” according to Marketdata Enterprices, Inc.¹
If you Google “popular self-help books” you get 12,789 titles on 256 pages. If you just google “self-help” you get more than 48 million results.
No matter what your addiction, your emotional or psychological problems, you can’t fix them by reading self-help books. The only way you’re going to resolve your deep-seeded hurts and wounds in life is in and through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. God created you. He formed you from the dust. He knows everything about you. And when something inside gets broken, He is the only one who knows how to fix it.
Self-help books are full of cookie cutter solutions for all their readers problems. The problem is, these self-help authors don’t know you. They know symptoms, they know social problems, they know something about mass behavior.
But they don’t know you. God knows you inside and out. He knows you intimately and personally and He’s been walking with you your entire life. He created you. He knows every move you’ve made, every word you’ve said, everything you’ve done. He knows your every fear, joy, choice, trouble, accomplishment, bad decision, thought, emotion, regret, kindness, service, praise and worship.
God’s word is the only book that will resolve your troubles and trials. God has an answer for every question you have about your life. His book won’t give you a bunch of methods and steps to a better life. God will teach you in His word your true identity, your purpose in life, and your way to victory. God’s word will teach you who God is and how a personal relationship with Him can transform your life.
What issues are you facing today? What trials? What doubts? What fears?
Let me ask you this: would you rather change your behavior for a while, or transform your life so you can manage any circumstance in your life? My suggestion is to dig deeply into God’s word–the only book that will truly help you.
Are you seeking help from self-help books written to and for the masses? By someone who has never met you? Who could never learn enough about you to resolve the issues you face in life? Why not pick up a copy of God’s Life Manual. In it you will find all the answers to all your questions. Do you know this God personally? Did you know you can have a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ? To find out more about Jesus follow this link. You could be one click away from a beautiful, eternal life.
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¹Market for Self-Improvement Products & Services", 8th Edition, © 2011, by Marketdata Enterprises, 3903 Regents Park Drive, Suite 120, Tampa, Florida 33647. Information obtained from their website: http://prweb.com.
For His Glory 
Your just yelling about having a relationship with God through CHrist but not practical steps to develop that for someone who is isolated and alone and doesn’t know any other way to live. How many people have you tried to befriend at an ACOA or alanon meeting? I cant stand Christians who do this and then talk in cliche’s that no one understands except other Christians. Go help someone will you please. THanks and God Bless You too
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Mr. Dysfunky, Thank you for your comment. I’m sorry if my post angered you. You should know that I grew up in an alcoholic home. As an adult I spent six years in Alanon and Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA). During that time my circle of close friends included fellow group members. We spent holidays, birthdays and special occasions together for years. We went to church together. At one time I was attending three recovery meetings a week. I had my own addictions to deal with. I went through a period with no money, no job and no place to live. I understand isolation and loneliness. But I discovered another way to live–through a personal relationship with Jesus. I regret I can’t write a list of practical steps for you, but I can help you find out more about how to get into a personal relationship with Him. He can change your life. He changed my life forever. Here’s a link to a page on my site that may help you. http://bit.ly/xtKBZG I will be happy to talk with you further if you have questions or more concerns. I don’t want any of my readers to read my blog with resentment or anger.. If you’d like to talk further, please email me at stevesaw@gmail.com. I will pray for you. And I hope you find the joy and hope and peace that I have found in my relationship with God. Thank you again. In Jesus’ precious name Steven Sawyer stevesaw@gmail.com https://stevensawyer.wordpress.com/
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Good words today Steven. So true. It has become common knowledge that the way to get rich is to write a book on how to get rich. That this market is booming is evidence that we know we’re broken, we just refuse to admit we can’t fix our own problems. You state it perfectly… ‘God helps those who come to an end of self and realize only He can.’ Thanks friend and God bless.
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Thank you MT, I appreciate all your encouragement and kind words. Thank you for visiting and I’ll be visiting your blog again shortly.
In Jesus’ precious name Steven Sawyer stevesaw@gmail.com https://stevensawyer.wordpress.com/
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