Are you a Christian thinking about creating a vision board? Christians and vision boards can be risky business if we’re not careful because most professing Christians are unaware of the hidden dangers. Some Christians and churches these days promote vision board parties and visualization practices without thinking much about their origins.
Some ask, what is wrong with making a vision for your life and cutting out words and images to accompany your dream? My aim is to share how you can have big dreams and goals for your life and business, but also share how some Christians misuse visualization.
I encourage you to stick with me to the end. I can’t share the reality of this vision practice with you, but I can just break down its roots for proper context so that you can walk away with adequate understanding. Is that a deal?
I created a video about this on my YouTube Channel. Also, you can check out Manifesting Goals Through Vision Boards for some ways vision boards are used legitimately, especially for Christian business owners.
MY HISTORY WITH VISION BOARDS
In my late teens, my goal-setting journey began when my dad gave me a business book by David J. Swartz, The Magic of Thinking Big. The book is not a weird read. It’s a practical, motivational success book highlighting how people persevered through the success journey by thinking big. I have no issues learning from secular books when their principles align with the Bible.
Although I credit the Lord God for every victory or success in my life, this book would catapult me onto a journey of dreaming and winning big with some ambitions I set out to tackle. It helped me to understand the value of clearly defined written goals and helped me to focus and eliminate distractions.
I kept success mindset books in rotation. I set goals to read many books within a year because the successful people I read about mentioned reading on their goals list. Additionally, the Bible is about God’s success and our victory through Him, and many practical principles align with even an unbeliever, such as sowing and reaping. I still read my Bible and attended church faithfully during these years, but reading other books was enjoyable and motivational because they were simple to understand and stimulated my brain to think deeper.
Secular Books and Vision
Some of the writers in those secular books spoke about vision boards and visualization exercises. They taught me to imagine the life I wanted. They advised me to write down where I wanted to live, the amount of money I wanted, the kind of man I wanted to marry, and the like.
I learned that successful people put those desires onto a board to look at them daily. The authors shared success stories of how everything they visualized came to fruition through working hard, seeing it as already happening, and goal setting.
Soulful, I will be clear. As a Christian business owner and Soul Coach who has a vision for my life and business, I still practice creating dream big goals. I have a vision that aligns with biblical principles, and I am taking everything I need in prayer to align with God’s will for my life. God wants us to maximize all the gifts and talents He’s given us, and to do so, we want to have goals and a plan.
THE NEW AGE CONNECTION and vision
Vision boards have connections with the practices of new agers. The new age is so broad and combines every kind of spiritual practice under the sun, such as yoga, witchcraft, astrology, and meditation, to name a few. New age practice has crept into the church and is now so common among professing Christians and those practicing all kinds of religions, including Satanism. Wikipedia defines the new age as a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in the Western world during the 1970s.
In The Second Coming of the New Age, the Hidden Dangers of Alternative Spirituality in Contemporary America and its Churches the authors describes the new age as a collection of beliefs and practices aimed at bringing enlightenment. “The goal, at an individual level, is to “raise the consciousness” to a “higher density or a higher vibration,” meaning that knowledge of self, combined with divination and occult practices, can elevate our spiritual condition to a level of self-identity.”
The book also describes “the new age as a spiritual system of thought and practice composed of beliefs, values, and traditions from various schools and religions.”
Now, this bit of history helps us understand what we’re dealing with. I created a video about this some years before God called me back into the marketplace as a business owner, but this video can still be helpful.
Christians and Vision Boards - video
vision and law of attraction
Vision boards come into the equation due to their connection with spiritual /transpersonal psychology. Transpersonal psychology is a sub-field of psychology and connects to the law of attraction/manifesting. It thrives on explaining the spiritual side of the human experience to the modern framework of psychology. Self-development also plays a massive part in this equation. The law of attraction and manifesting tie in with the god of “self.” As the Soul Coach, I’m very careful about how I present my services into the marketplace because so many unbelievers delve into messing with the soul with untruths.
New Thought, as it’s often called, is a spiritual movement. Wikipedia defines it like, “the Law of Attraction is a pseudoscience based on the belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences into a person’s life. The belief is based on the idea that people and their thoughts are made from “pure energy” and that a process of like energy attracting like energy exists through which a person can improve their health, wealth, and personal relationships.”
know truth about vision boards
Jesus Christ is the Truth and the Life, and He wants us to grow in our knowledge of Him to grow in wisdom and truth. Therefore, knowing the truth involves delving into Bible study and going deeper in our time alone with the Lord, and like the Apostle John, we must stand firm against errors.
1 John 4:4-6 NKJV says, You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Many people spoke lies about Jesus’ deity, resurrection, and authority after His death. Many people who professed faith in Jesus left the faith and taught lies about Him. Therefore, the apostle John had to write 1st-3rd John to defend Christ’s death, resurrection, Lordship, and the Christian faith. He spoke harshly about false prophets and those who deny Christ and everything He taught.
New age practices oppose Christ’s deity and teachings of the cross. They teach people they can have Christ’s consciousness and go deep into meditation for tranquility. Please don’t willingly fall into this trap to work against God. If you’re of God, your eternal blessings are more significant than any of these demonic spiritual practices. Christ is light, and we don’t need hidden things, craftiness, or to handle the Word deceitfully. (2 Cor 4:1-4). Listen to the people our Father ordained to teach His sound truth and take each thought captive to make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor 10:5).
2 Corinthians 4:1-4 CSB says, Therefore, since we have this ministry because we were shown mercy, we do not give up. 2 Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful things, not acting deceitfully or distorting the word of God, but commending ourselves before God to everyone’s conscience by an open display of the truth. 3 But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
the occult and vision boards
Vision and attraction depend on specific energy to bring things to fruition. Can you tell me where we focus on drawing energy into our thoughts in the Word of God? I don’t see anything like that, but I see countless instances of the people of God praying. If whatever you’re doing is not rooted in God’s truth based upon His inerrant and infallible Word—it’s evil.
We watch and listen to many things that masquerade as light, but the hidden agenda is dark because it’s meant to pull us away from Christ subtly. What appears good to your uncured soul can be downright wrong!
Isaiah 5:20 KJV says, Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
witches and vision boards
The Traveling Witch website has a post, How to use Vision Boards with your Witchcraft. The author states, “Basically, a vision board is a tool to manifest your goals. This tool works based on the Law of Attraction principle —like attracts like, meaning if you are vibrating at a certain frequency, you will attract people and things that are also vibrating at a similar frequency”.
The blogger later shared the witchy way to make a vision board, how to weave witchcraft into one, how to perform spells, and ways to connect with fellow witches to make them together.
Again, I’m not saying you may never have a use for a vision board to map out plans for your business, but the way many Christians use it is for selfish material gains. God doesn’t want us to take so many new-age practices and attempt to Christianize them. He gives us the ability to come to Him in prayer for everything we need. As we build and grow closer in our relationship with Jesus Christ, we begin to learn His will for our lives.
1 John 5:13-15 CSB says, This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him.
THE FOCUS ON SELF-VISION
If we look at Genesis 3, where Eve conversed with the serpent and ate of the fruit, the enemy made sure to point out, “you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Do you notice the words you-will? Now replace you-will with “I” or myself-will.
You’ve now placed yourself into the position of a god!
Now, I do want you to use wisdom here. I’m not saying you can never say things like “I will have a good day.” “I will have a good workout at the gym today.”
However, Eve bypassed what God said and listened to another voice. This is what the Lord is asking us to guard against. Because listening to another voice and stepping outside of the will of God has consequences. Therefore, it’s best to just go to Him and ask for what we want and share the desires we have in our heart with Him in prayer.
the little god
Do you want to be a little god? As a Bible believing Christian, it’s essential to understand that there is one Master’s will, which should be God’s. Anything that places the self in place of God’s will is sin—yes, even your free choice. But, most do not know this because modern churches are nothing more than corporations masquerading as churches and are more focused on filling the pews, teaching you to live your best life now and make ungodly choices. This mindset teaches one to use Jesus only for hard and tough things and use Him for personal gain to fulfill all of their self-desires.
I bolded parts of the following Scripture text to reflect what I mean.
Isaiah 12:14-15 NKJV says,
“How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.
Lucifer had a vision for his life, and he still does. He works through many to bring about his plans. Imagination is so powerful. After all, the pornographic impressions left in the viewer’s mind after seeing pornography causes lasting damage long after seeing the image. Nonetheless, we need teachings on how to see ourselves and our lives through God’s holy intentions.
FOCUS ON THE RIGHT VISION
Yes, we need a vision. You’ll want one for your life and business. You want a vision for your parenting, marriage, household, family, relationships, etc. However, correct vision is abundant in the God we worship—in His Word, the perfect law. Without God’s excellent instructions, the people cast off restraints and go all over the place with no guidance. Many high achievers who don’t know Christ as Savior and Lord will end up in hell because their vision leads them there—yet the world knows them.
Proverbs 29:18 KJV says, Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Carrying out the vision God plants in us through His perfect law is what makes us successful—not our self-righteousness. Psalm 127:1 CSB teaches, Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain.
Again, I’m all for goals. We started dreambiggoals.com to host our services and events. Cure 4 the Soul helps Christians called to the marketplace to build goals and dream big God’s way, and we offer a free Dream Big Goal-Setting Guide to get you going.
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the little god of self
A strong desire to be Godlike has been present and rampant since the fall in the Garden of Eden. Sadly, most Christians don’t realize they are trapped in self-worship because it feels natural and harmless. That’s because before we were saved, we were used to functioning and living from our soul and flesh. After all, we were spiritually dead before being filled with the Holy Spirit.
As a Christian, I didn’t know there was anything wrong with most of my goals and vision boards in the past until I learned more about the soul (mind, will, and emotions) and how that soul part of us interacts with the flesh and the spirit. I created a mini-vision board with some Christian ladies when I moved to Dallas in 2019, and something felt off, and I never finished or looked back at the vision board.
When you’re feeling superb and euphoric, you think your soul is on target, especially when a preacher connects Scripture into the mix, or a fellow believer encourages you.
Sadly, there is so much new-age promotion of self and prosperity teachings in the church, and it’s so easy to see how so many get tangled up in this “go-getter get what God can give you mindset,” because it’s soulish and fleshly. Prosperity teachings sound true because they appeal to the flesh and the soul (you).
Don’t be misled, Soulful.
I am into taking care of myself and personal development, but in most instances, self-help, self-development, self-esteem, self-love, self-care, and any high out of balance focus on self is not biblical or godly.
A high emphasis on self can quickly get out of alignment if God is not the reason for your endeavors. Yes, we should take care of the temple God has gifted us with, live confidently in Christ, and exhibit discipline. It’s wise to use your time wisely to steward these aspirations with well-thought-out plans and guidelines. But we dream big goals, and God answers our prayers when they align with His will to serve Him and others.
Vision Boards and Dangers
So why is it dangerous to create a vision board? We need to ask God, “Is there anything wrong with my vision?” There is much wrong with your sight if your spiritual view contradicts Scripture.
It took years for me to realize that many Scriptures used in church to teach success have improper use. Take, for instance, Philippians 4:13, Jeremiah 29:11, Habakkuk 2:2, and Malachai 3:8-12; these Scriptures have nothing to do with you doing all you want to accomplish, writing out your vision, and God giving you everything you put on a vision board. The passage in Malachi is also off the mark about tithing that’s taught in the churches. They use tithing to scare the Church of Christ into giving in a way that’s manipulative. The New Testament saints are givers, not tithers. Therefore, when people are tithing they think God owes them something for their religious act. This is another topic for another day.
Although I use the highly popular sacred Scriptures in my Dream Big Goal-Setting Guide and Planner system, I share them because I want to display God’s planning holistically. I still make plans and have a vision for my life (see more in my conclusion).
You Can’t Make it Godly
No matter how many positive affirmations and Scriptures you add to the vision board, if it’s not God’s vision for your life, it’s going to be worthless. Additionally, you’ll be living life and acquiring all sorts of things (that you will manifest) that are not God’s desire for you.
It’s important to note that just because you acquire wealth, your dream spouse, succeed as an entrepreneur, and get to travel the world does not mean God gave or blessed it.
There are tons of people with worldly success who have no belief in God. Those in the occult, such as dark arts and witchcraft, use vision casting to get what they want.
I highly encourage planning and setting goals with flexibility towards the interruption and leading of the Holy Spirit. Please don’t just make a goal and vision board and tack God and Scriptures onto it, and declare and decree the blessing.
Satan cast a vision when
Can you cast a vision for your marriage and business, yes? For instance, you may say, “Look at us living by the beach and having so much love and joy daily. Picture us sitting on the deck watching the sun set while we pray and watch the dog and kids play.” However, vision casting for completely selfish ambitions is a tool of the enemy. He tempted Jesus at the high point and offered to give Him the world if He worshiped Him (Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus rejected it and used Holy Scripture to fight the temptations. (Jesus is the living Word).
God wants us to have desires and dreams, but the heart is not always right with God. Sometimes, you get drawn off into your self-will and fleshly wants. When we get clothed with our new life in Christ, we must let the Holy Spirit renew and transform our minds and cure our souls. Before we got justified from Christ, we were used to our souls making the decisions and calling all the shots. Often, these decisions felt right, but they were incomplete opposition to our Lord and Savior.
Again, new thought promotion of self has crept so far into the church, so it sounds right when the preacher pulls Scripture into the teaching.
Reject Satan’s vision for you, and lean into the perfect plans and promises of God Almighty.
conclusion
In conclusion, guard against selfish ambition, new thought, and good feelings when it comes to things you desire. New age practices are dangerous and lead you away from the cross of Christ. You can set goals and make plans. I still set goals and make plans for my life to this day. I just set goals differently. I sit down and write them out with God and pray over them. I adjust as the Holy Spirit leads and ask for God’s will to be done above my plans. The closer I’ve gotten to my Lord and Savior, the more He still shows me areas where He has to get worldly teachings out of me that I’ve learned in my early years, but it’s a good thing because it sharpens my discernment.
Our path is unique, and God allowed me to walk mine to ultimately teach and minister to others in this way. I pray you are open to learning and growing as the Holy Spirit leads you. Please don’t discount this writing, and continue with your plans. It feels good to make plans and win, but knowing if God approves the methods is vital.
Soul work Actions:
Pray and ask the Father to show you what He wants you to do with your time.
Make the best use of your time by planning it out, but remain flexible.
Show up to do the assignment God called you to. Continue to pray for God’s vision, strength, and focus to carry it out.
Soulful, I appreciate you reading this to the end. If this teaching has blessed you in any way, please share it with two friends.
One Response
Hello Latanya,
Thanks for sharing! I believe that affirmations when paired with biblical truths are a great way to recognize who we are in Christ. We are who GOD says we are. Affirmations and biblical truths are excellent tools for people who struggle with lack of direction and low self worth. I have used them for myself and for my clients. I’m a much better person today by the grace of GOD!
Creating a vision and goals are important however I agree that the vision board puts too much concentration on the board where the “vision board” becomes like an idol.
Great article! Thanks for sharing.