Katie Ledecky is the 19 yr. old swimmer who blasted
through world records and won several gold medals. In an interview during the recent Olympics, a news
anchor asked her, “So what is the secret to your success?” She said something
phenomenal: “The secret is…there is no
secret. Just put in the work.” Is she right?
Reminds me of the movie, Kung Fu
Panda. Brilliant animation. PO is a giant
Panda, His father wants him to be a chef and make incredible noodle soup but he
doesn’t know the secret ingredient. Then PO is chosen to be the Dragon Warrior
to bring peace to the valley by defeating the dreaded Tiger. But PO is no Kung Fu fighter. The final step to becoming Dragon Warrior is to obtain the
scroll as he's told by his Master: You
will never be the Dragon Warrior until you have learned the secret of the
Dragon Scroll. The scroll contained the secret to limitless power—but
could only be read by the true dragon warrior. He never believes he is the
Dragon Warrior but obtains the scroll and finds nothing but his reflection on a glossy page. As he
runs to save the village anyway, his father tells him,
Father: I think it’s time I
told you something. The secret ingredient in the soup? It’s nothing.
PO: Nothing?
Father: Nothing. YOU don’t HAVE TO MAKE SOMETHING special… you just have to believe
it’s special.”
At that moment PO realizes that the secret of the dragon scroll, the secret to limitless power is
belief. So he goes and saves the village because he believes in
himself.
Sounds good? Sounds attractive. And confidence might
help when it comes to animated stories of Panda bears saving villages. What’s the secret? What’s the secret
sauce to living? What's the secret to success? The message of most
self-help books as in Kung Fu Panda is, 'Believe in yourself.'
Secret to being salesman of the month? Secret to picking up the woman of your dreams? 'Belief in yourself.' Timothy
Keller says that’s the only current moral absolute: “You gotta be yourself.” I
think he’s right. Just about everything that is right or wrong in our culture
can be traced back to that mantra: “I believe in myself.”
But here's a thought: there are lot of people in prison
because they believed in themselves, even though they were wrong. And a lot of
hurt in the world is the result of people who believe in themselves—whether
it’s the alcoholic or the gambler—who believes they are invincible.
Jesus comes along and says this is
flawed philosophy. In effect, He says the opposite: “Without me, you can do nothing.” In one way He’s saying,
“Stop believing in yourself. Instead believe in me.” So Christianity says,
“Don’t believe in your own limitless power. Believe in Jesus and He'll give you a
new self.” Now that’s something to believe in.
