Pastor and author Rick Warren appeared with Oprah Winfrey on the OWN Network’s “Oprah’s Lifeclass” last Sunday and told the audience to start reading the Bible. “You are a product of your past, but you are not a prisoner of your past. It has influence over you, but it’s just one of the cards,” Warren told listeners as he advised them to open the Book of John to learn more.
Warren encouraged those who would complain about the life they were given to accept it as a part of their unique makeup. He said real change in life begins with one’s thoughts, and that “your consciousness is the story you tell yourself,” quoting Proverbs 23:7. He advised listners not to “resist” temptation but to “refocus” and “renew their consciousness.”
“The world tells you all kinds of stuff. It says that you’re not competent, you’re ugly, you don’t matter, you’re worthless — don’t listen to it. God says you’re valuable, you’re capable, you’re forgivable, you’re usable. You listen to the right thing, not the wrong thing.”
Winfrey concluded the session with a hope that listeners would “become more conscious, more aware of their meaning and purpose on Earth.”
