“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” — Steve Jobs

When Joyce Meyer says:

God has a plan for you – and His plan is much better than yours. So give yourself to Him and see what happens. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

It seems obvious that the God she is encouraging hijacks other people’s lives.

Think about it. How would the Christian know that God’s plan is better than their plan? How would you test it, verify it?

You can’t. Because that would be you trying to make sense of it. That would be your reasoning, your rational mind, your plans, sitting in judgment of God’s.

Essentially, your own judgment, your own plans, your own thinking…that’s worthless and different from God’s greater plan that you have to follow. You’re dangerous to yourself, so you need to follow God instead.

I know what this belief does. I’ve felt it myself — the Bible and pastors telling you to be afraid of yourself and who you are. No thanks.

I’d rather not spend my whole life terrified of who I am and seeking the guidance of a nonexistent phantom controlled by moneygrubbing pastors and churches. When I need motivation, having the freedom to think through my own life and make my own plans without a 2000-year-old fictional God’s interference helps me find it more inherently than a wagging, ill-informed finger from Joyce Meyer and her ilk. It’s much more accepting of who I am, less guilt and shame-ridden and much more beautiful. And it helps me respect and understand others who actually exist, instead of forcing them into the supposed plan of someone who doesn’t.

Maybe, instead of being alienated from yourself, it might be a good idea to get in touch with yourself, to be honest about the parts of your desires that you like and those you want to fulfill, to embrace those you love without having to worry about God’s approval (while at the same time experiencing the freedom to distance yourself from those who are toxic) and to experience the freedom of prudently choosing a course in your own life.

You may surprise yourself as you continue, every day, to discover yourself.

Maybe you don’t have to be afraid of who you are…

Perhaps you’re better at having your own life than you think.

Thank you for reading.