Oprah's talking about it. Larry King is talking about it. It's made headlines around the world. It's The Secret, a movie about a popular new philosophy that claims to hold the keys to health, wealth, happiness and the life you truly want.

Rhonda Byrne, the producer, describes "the secret" as the universal law of attraction, the concept that our thoughts and feelings align with vibrations in the universe to attract the things we want to us. Other proponents of "the secret" describe the universe as a shopping basket or a restaurant, claiming that all we have to do is place an order for the things we want with our thoughts. Though there's more to it, the basic idea is that by controlling our thoughts, we can control our lives.

Is there really a universal law of attraction governing the way our lives work?

We recognize that the laws of physics govern the workings of the world around us. Those laws have natural consequences built into them. For example, no one would think of jumping off a building and not expect serious negative consequences for attempting to defy the law of gravity. On the other hand, those same laws, carefully followed, allow us to fly airplanes and explore the universe.

The same God who set the laws of physics in motion to govern His creation, also established spiritual laws to guide our lives. Just like the laws of physics, God's spiritual laws have natural consequences built in—positive results when we live in harmony with them and negative results when we try to go against them.

God intends us to live full, abundant lives (see John 10:10). However, He promises blessings to those who obey Him and keep His commandments and not to those who just "magically" and gullibly think about them. Deuteronomy 28 is known as the blessings and curses chapter because it outlines the blessings God promised for obedience to His laws and the curses that result from disobedience.

The idea of blessings and curses often conjures an image of God sitting in heaven with a lightning stick of some kind. Some imagine Him intently watching our every move, waiting for an opportunity to either zap us for breaking His law or occasionally to send a blessing in return for obedience. But that's not the way it works.

God's laws are principles that lead to a happy, healthy life now and an even greater future in the Kingdom of God. Obedience to the divine laws naturally brings blessings. For example, when we refuse to lie, we build trust in our relationships with our friends and family, and our lives are happier as a result. Likewise, breaking God's laws brings negative consequences, in much the same way that attempting to defy the law of gravity does.

God set up His laws so that they work whether a person knows Him or not. If those who don't know God can benefit from obedience to His laws, how much more good can obedience do for a person who has an active relationship with Him?

You, too, can learn more about how to live a great life by downloading or requesting your free copy of Making Life Work and using it as a study guide to the Bible. But remember this, the real secret to happiness and success is not to align our thoughts with the vibrations of the universe, but to align our lives with the laws of our loving Creator God. VT