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A review by gwendolynstorey
Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential by Joel Osteen
3.0
Joel Osteen’s book was filled with positivity and messages of kindness of hope, making it a feel-good read. I usually chose to start my day with a chapter, and found it helped me start the day with a happy mindset. I specifically appreciated that, unlike other manifestation manuals, this book rarely insinuated that when bad things happen it’s the person’s fault. God just has a different plan.
My trouble with the message comes in when Osteen starts talking about healing cancer through prayer and a smile. I bought the book to give to a friend who is an Osteen fan, and began to worry what kind of message this was spreading. Yes, I agree that being filled with gratitude will bring lots of positivity in your life. But I worry when messages such as the one above are spread. It glosses over the fact that the Osteen family is ridiculously wealthy and probably had access to some of the best doctors in Houston, an incredibly developed city in, one could argue, one of the most developed countries. What does this say about those whose cancer isn’t cured? How would Osteen have told the story differently if his mother hadn’t lived?
Osteen speaks with a voice of authority that, again, I think is mostly used for good. But I worry about people reading/listening and trusting that authority on all things, without questioning deeper or recognizing the things they have access to beyond prayers and positivity.
My trouble with the message comes in when Osteen starts talking about healing cancer through prayer and a smile. I bought the book to give to a friend who is an Osteen fan, and began to worry what kind of message this was spreading. Yes, I agree that being filled with gratitude will bring lots of positivity in your life. But I worry when messages such as the one above are spread. It glosses over the fact that the Osteen family is ridiculously wealthy and probably had access to some of the best doctors in Houston, an incredibly developed city in, one could argue, one of the most developed countries. What does this say about those whose cancer isn’t cured? How would Osteen have told the story differently if his mother hadn’t lived?
Osteen speaks with a voice of authority that, again, I think is mostly used for good. But I worry about people reading/listening and trusting that authority on all things, without questioning deeper or recognizing the things they have access to beyond prayers and positivity.