"THINK AND GROW RICH" AND THE KINGDOM?

I will be “letting down my hair” this week to share with you some light stuff, although not something altogether unrelated to our interest on this site. In fact, it is something that interestingly attests to the remarkable discovery we made in the recently concluded Horsepower series of articles.

In the said articles, we unveiled the secret behind the envisioned awesome exploits of the redeemed saints in the promised earthly kingdom of their Lord and savior Jesus Christ. This was accomplished through a biblical interpretation of the horses that the symbolic Revelation portrays them as riding to take over the global kingdom and establish their millennial dominion. And what was the discovery? An all out angelic empowerment!

As I noted in concluding that series, I had to be concise. I, however, promised a more detailed examination of the subject in my coming book THE COMING GLORY. Here’s a direct excerpt from the manuscript of the book, which is what I want to share with you this week:

This horsepower secret behind the saints’ millennial exploits is the ultimate dimension of what Napoleon Hill proposed in his celebrated book Think and Grow Rich. Although I do not subscribe to all his ideas, Hill evidently had remarkable insight into some very deep things, even if he did not get all the nitty-gritty right. Coming to think of it, the title of his book, “Think and Grow Rich,” is actually a biblical statement. The proverbs state, “The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness­ [or riches]”! (Proverbs 21:5.)

 As Hill bears out in the preface to the book, the “secret” of his “philosophy of success” is applicable to “men and women in every calling” – just as I said about the horsepower secret behind the saints’ millennial exploits!

Some have identified Hill’s unspoken “secret” of great achievement as desire. Not so fast. Not exactly. To begin with, he notes that the secret has not been directly named, while “Desire” is boldly named as the title of the second chapter of the book, the first principle of the unspoken secret. Actually, desire, or to “know what you want,” or a “definite major purpose,” or an “idea” is the down payment that, according to Hill, the seeker must make in order to discover the unspoken secret. It is the first and given part of the secret that he says must already be in possession of him that is in the quest of the elusive and functional other. As Hill states in the chapter titled “Imagination,” “Desire is only a thought, an impulse. It is nebulous and ephemeral. It is abstract and of no value until it has been transformed into its physical counterpart [with the aid of the unspoken secret].” It is, however, noteworthy that Hill subtitles the chapter on desire as “The starting point of all achievement.” Wasn’t that the starting point of this horsepower secret of the saints’ millennial exploits that we are speaking of – God’s original purpose, His desire in the beginning to fully express Himself!

Now, a proper appreciation of Hill’s book will reveal that the functional secret he advocates is actually the mindset, or resolution, or will – “it has not been directly named” – to achieve one’s desire, or definite major purpose. How much like God’s! “Yea, I have spoken it [recall the Word of His purpose in the beginning, especially in creating man], I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it” (Isaiah 46:11). His mind was set on accomplishing His definite major purpose of fully expressing all His attributes!

In common language, the secret of great achievement that Hill correctly advocates is determination, which actually means strength of mind, or will power – both of which point us back to the horse, the epitome of strength and power! This ‘determination’ secret of success is most vividly portrayed in the story of Henry Ford that Hill tells in the first chapter of the book. He sets the pace with the observation, “A single transaction [of Ford] will illustrate this ‘secret’ perfectly,” and winds it up with, “The Ford determination [or mindset] had won once more!”

If that doesn’t do it, we need only turn to the second chapter, titled “Faith,” where he shares a poem. The second verse says:

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,

For out of the world we find,

Success begins with a person’s will [emphasis mine] –

It’s all in the state of mind [emphasis not mine].

As we can see, Hill’s “secret” of great achievement chimes loudly with the horsepower “secret” behind the saints’ millennial exploits that will enable them to possess the “riches and honour” that is the legacy of the knowledge, wisdom and understanding of God that they will mediate and demonstrate. (Isn’t Think and Grow Rich written all over that?) As I said, the qualified man would only need to know his brief, what he wants to do, his definite purpose; and once he wills, or sets his mind on achieving it, his angelic horsepower is roused, takes over and propels him on. In fascinating agreement, Hill says, “those who acquire [the secret] and use it find themselves literally swept on to success with but little effort”! (Emphasis added.) It will be just so natural, for behind it all is the Almighty’s original desire and unfailing determination to fully express Himself in His saints.

If you still have any doubts about the connection I am making, Hill throws it in our face towards the end of the book:

THE “thirteenth” principle is known as the SIXTH SENSE, through which Infinite Intelligence [the Almighty, the Father of Angels] may, and will communicate voluntarily, without any effort from, or demands by, the individual. This principle is the apex of the philosophy…

The SIXTH SENSE is that portion of the subconscious mind which has been referred to as the Creative Imagination [an alternative expression for the “inspired perception” that runs the gamut of the Armies of Heaven by reason of the horsepower that enables them to “operate on a dimension that is above and separated from the common”]. It has also been referred to as the “receiving set” through which ideas, plans, and thoughts flash into the mind. The “flashes” are sometimes called “hunches” or “inspirations” [see it?]…

The sixth sense probably is the medium of contact between the finite mind of man and Infinite Intelligence, and for this reason, it is a mixture of both the mental and the spiritual [the natural talent boosted by the supernatural horsepower, as I said; emphasis not mine]. It is believed to be the point at which the mind of man contacts the Universal Mind.

After you have mastered the principles described in this book, you will be prepared to accept as truth a statement which may, otherwise, be incredible to you, namely: Through the aid of the sixth sense, you will be warned of impending dangers in time to avoid them, and notified of opportunities in time to embrace them.

[Now, here it comes] There comes to your aid, and to do your bidding, with the development of the sixth sense, a “GUARDIAN ANGEL” who will open to you at all times the door to the TEMPLE OF WISDOM [all emphases added].

Whether or not this is a statement of truth, you will never know, except by following the instructions described in the pages of this book, or some similar method of procedure.[1]

There you are. That’s the angelic power behind the saints’ millennial exploits, depicted in the horses that the Revelation portrays them as riding into the kingdom to regain the “paradise lost.” It will at all times open to them the door into the Temple of the knowledge, wisdom and understanding of the Almighty that He has determined to express through them. Indeed, as we noted in Chapter 2, the saints, together with Christ their King, will be that Temple of Wisdom.

That’s why, should I have reason to recommend Think and Grow Rich to anyone, I would advice the intending reader to first seek the “kingdom of God and its righteousness” (see Matthew 6:24-34 ). This is very important because, when one endeavours to really utilise the methods advanced in the book, he would be reaching into a realm that is beyond the natural. Without the mark of the Blood of the Lamb on his forehead and the hedge of the Holy Spirit around him, I need not repeat what might be coming to his aid and to do his bidding. This might explain why some who greatly benefit from the methods of the book end up disastrously. As Hill warns in the preface, “there is no such thing as SOMETHING FOR NOTHING.”

It is good to have a “dream,” a vision, an idea, a goal – or what else we have called it. But as Christians, it is especially necessary for us to check out those things and see if they agree with God’s purpose for our present lives. If not, our pursuit of them will have consequences.  So, if you have been fascinated by Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, you might also want to know what people like Rick Warren and David Oyedepo have to say in books like The Purpose Driven Life and In Pursuit of Vision, respectively. “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (I Timothy 4:8). The much better life that is to come shouldn’t be sacrificed on the altar of our personal ambitions in the present one.

(End of excerpt.)

So, friends, keep the faith and remain posted.

God bless you always.

In the King’s Service,

David Olagoke Olawoyin.

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[1] Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich [All underlined emphases, except otherwise noted, have been added. All capitalised emphases, except otherwise noted, are as in the original text.]