In past years while Christmas shopping I frequently found myself in bookshops or in the book sections of various stores and wherever I went I saw the same book, with the same smiling face on the cover. 

The book was Become a Better You and the face belonged to its author, Joel Osteen. 

Joel and his wife Victoria are co-pastors at the most mega of the American mega churches, Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. Since Joel took over preaching on his father's death in 1999, the congregation has gone from 10,000 to 45,000 attendees each week. 

The church now meets in a 16,000-seat former basketball stadium, and services are televised around the world to an estimated 100 million households in 100 countries. 

Joel's sermons are downloaded 4.5 million times a month and his two books Become a Better You and Your Best Life Now have sold 7 million copies.

Now, hot off the presses comes Love Your Life by Victoria Osteen, which will undoubtedly find its way to a bookshelf near you. 

The book is well presented and easy to read, covering topics such as "Living with Confidence', "Embracing what's Important', "Enjoying Rich Relationships', "Being a People Builder' and so on. 

Victoria offers helpful, even wise advice about the importance of speaking encouraging words to those around us, spending time with our family and friends, being confident and positive in our attitudes and making the most of our talents.  As a self-help book I don't have a problem with it, but as Newsweek writer Lisa Miller said in her review, "What's God got to do with it?'

Victoria says "I wrote this book in the hope that it will help you to achieve new levels in your life and to discover the treasures, gifts and abilities within you that are just waiting to be uncovered" (pxiii) and "Ultimately, loving your life is about discovering the greatness that's inside of you and the influence you have on the world around you" (pxiv). She believes God has created us with everything we need to succeed and live happy lives already in place, deep within us. It's up to us to tap into that wealth within and release it into our lives and into the lives of those around us.  "If you'll rise up today and see yourself as God's special treasure, selected by Him and for Him, then no one can keep you from your destiny" (p9).  In her worldview "You' are central and God is relegated to the sidelines as a type of life coach and "He applauds you every time you take a step of faith" (p213).

Sin and the judgement of God hardly rate a mention. In fact Victoria believes "You don't need to live guilty or condemned, feeling like you don't measure up" (p214) and "God is not mad at you; He is madly in love with you!" (p212). 

When discussing the story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery, she says "God is not in the business of condemning people; He's in the business of improving and loving people" (p. 219). In this worldview we don't really need a Saviour, so Jesus becomes our role model, (p24), our encourager (p187) and our personal assistant asking us "What do you want Me to do for you?" (p68).

I found the most annoying aspect of the book to be the way Victoria Osteen uses the Bible. To illustrate her views, Osteen uses countless stories from family, friends and others, and the Bible is merely another source of stories, with no superior authority. 

When she refers to the Bible she doesn't give the reference within the text, instead just a number to look up at the back of the book, which makes checking what she says against the Bible difficult.

In my opinion Victoria doesn't interpret the Bible well. 

Firstly, in the story of Esther, she adds to the Bible to make her point.  She says that Mordecai, who brought Esther up, "deposited words of faith and hope into the memory box of Esther's heart" (p8). Perhaps he did, but we are not told this in the book of Esther and to say this was the reason Esther later had confidence to go on and save Israel is wrong. 

Victoria also imports her own meaning onto biblical text. The story of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, in Numbers 13:1-14:24 is, in her mind, about overcoming fear through having confidence in oneself (p34). The feeding of the 5000 in John 6:1-14 is about giving God what we have and allowing Him to multiply it (p105). The instances of this do not end here.

Victoria also lifts verses out of their context. A telling example is Philippians 3:13 "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead," which she claims is about "looking for the new opportunities in our paths" (p110). Ironically, just a few verses later in Philippians 3:18-19 is a stunning denunciation of the Osteen philosophy, where the Apostle Paul says, "For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things."

The last two books I read with the word "Life' in the title were very different. They were Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper and Living the Cross-Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney.  In both books the cross is central. Piper calls the cross the "Blazing Center' and Mahaney begs us to "never move on from the cross". 

The centerpiece on the stage in Lakewood Church, in the place where you might expect to find a cross, is a huge hollow globe.  If you watch a telecast of the service you can see it slowly revolving behind Joel and Victoria Osteen as they speak. I believe it betrays the real focus of Victoria's book and the whole Osteen philosophy. Not on the cross, but on a worldly shell.