Self-help and self-love have been increasingly popular topics in recent years, but are they edifying to Christians trying to walk more closely with Jesus? Not according to Allie Beth Stuckey, host of the ‘Relatable’ podcast on BlazeMedia, who says the trend is “dangerous” and ultimately leads people away from God.
Stuckey spoke with Faithwire Managing Editor Dan Andros recently about her new book You’re Not Enough (and That’s Okay), which takes on some of the most common ‘myths’ perpetuated by self-help culture.
While Stuckey says people who use self-help/love type phrases such as “you’re enough” often mean well and don’t understand the potential damage they’re causing.
“I think the motivation behind using the phrase ‘you’re enough’ is to try to assuage insecurity or any feeling of not being competent or qualified or not a good mom or a good student,” she explained. “It really is a rallying cry for women who struggle with self-esteem or self-loathing thoughts.”
The downfall in this line of thinking, however, is that ultimately it steers us away from God. “The reason why I have a problem with it is because it encourages us to find our sufficiency and to find our confidence within ourselves rather than in the God who created us,” Stuckey says. “The fact of the matter is, even if we are very good moms or we’re really good at our jobs or we’re athletic… we’re still going to come up short in one area. We’re still going to find a way to feel insecure and small and not enough. Hearing Rachel Hollis or whatever author it is tell us over and over again we are enough isn’t going to change that.”
Stuckey went on to explain the only way to be truly secure in who we are is by seeking God. “The only remedy, the only antidote to our feelings of inadequacy and insufficiency and insecurity — which are very real — is God’s all sufficient love and grace. We shouldn’t seek to feel like we are enough, we should recognize we will never be enough — and that’s okay.”
Understanding that we are indeed sinners in need of a Savior, in fact, is good news, according to Stuckey, because “God’s grace and God’s love is sufficient for us, and he doesn’t call us to be enough for ourselves because He, through Jesus Christ, has become enough on our behalf.”
Check out the entire interview in the video linked above. Make sure to sign up for our YouTube Channel HERE.