For this episode of the Of Grace and Truth podcast, I interviewed Kristen LaValley about the popular message “Live Your Best Life”.
Here are some questions Kristen and I talked about in the episode:
- The entire season of this podcast is dedicated to exploring the messages in the Self Esteem Gospel, or messages that point people to themselves and their power instead of Christ. This episode explores the cultural message “Live Your Best Life”. Now, I’m not saying this phrase is bad to say, but the underlying implications can be negative and contrary to the Gospel. Can you explain what the “Live your best life” message is really saying?
- The “live your best life” message our culture shares is fundamentally different than what the Gospel says. Can you explain the difference between the two?
- What is the danger in determining our happiness based on our desires?
- How does the “live your best life” message place our hope in our own hands and make our self god, and where should we really put our hope and trust?
- Dietrich Bonheoffer says in his book The Cost of Discipleship “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Sacrifice and suffering are seen as things to be avoided at all costs in our culture. But what does the Bible say about them actually being central to the life of a believer?
- If happiness is up to you, then it’s your fault if you aren’t happy. “Live your best life” becomes just another standard to live up to. How does the Gospel free us from happiness resting on our shoulders?
- How are we free to enjoy life and God’s blessings without making them the point of life?
- “Live your best life” makes met desires and our happiness the goal of life. If getting our desires met is our aim of life, we will always strive for something more because that is the condition of the human heart. What does the Gospel say is the source of our true contentment, no matter what our situation is?
- Our culture believes that the aim of life is to enjoy life to the fullest. But the Bible says the point of life is to love God and make disciples, by becoming more like Christ. If our culture says enjoyment is the aim of life, what does the Gospel say about transformed character being central to the Christian life?
- Our culture tells us to live by our desires, but the Gospel tells us to live by the Spirit. What does it look like to live life by our desires compared to living life by the Spirit? How do we live a life that is not self-led but one that is Spirit led?
KRISTEN’S DAILY HABIT THAT HAS MOST FORMED HER TO LOOK LIKE JESUS:
Journaling
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE:
