Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
1 star
I’ve been wrestling with this book since I finished reading it. On first reading, I was smitten with Hollis’s personality and likability. Honestly, I feel manipulated. After months of dreading even writing or contemplating my overall thoughts on Rachel Hollis’s book Girl, Wash Your Face, I’ve come to one conclusion. This book promotes a self-help religion with plastering Jesus’s face on it to appeal to Christian women who are not strong enough in their faith to have developed discernment by reading the Word. The thing is I fell for the trap. I truly believe that the Devil convinced me to believe some of the lies Hollis spouts for a second even though the lies she wrote immediately left me feeling uncomfortable and should have been a red flag. What were those initial gut-feelings that should’ve been trusted?
• Her obsession with money and gaining personal items for wealth or influential knowledge saying, “HEY, LOOK HERE I AM RICH!” There was a chapter dedicated to her buying a fancy watch and this made me uncomfortable because Scripture warns us not to store up things with us because they will not follow us into heaven and chasing money, glory, and power are not akin to chasing the kingdom of God. Here’s the thing, if Jesus said not to hoard things for your benefit or greed then this is a red flag. I’m also struck by the story “The Rich and the Kingdom of God”. This story perfectly showcases why and how Hollis’s entire brand Christianity is thrown out and can be fed to the pigs. It’s not a true following of Jesus. It’s a following of man. Adam didn’t die for me on the cross. Jesus did and I refuse to believe and fall trap to the pretty packaged lies that Hollis wraps up in, “Girl, you got this. God has you, too. But remember that you have this more than God.” This is FALSE DOCTRINE AND IS DANGEROUS. It plants false seeds of discord into the minds of the church and it completely follows the teaching of false teaching of Jesus not being at the center.
“When you really want something, you’ll find a way. When you don’t really want something, you’ll find an excuse.”
• What about finding God first? What about going to Jesus in prayer and asking Him if this desire of your heart is from your flesh and your glory or to further the kingdom? What about those moments where you don’t want to do something because it puts you out there and instead of relying on excuses of “I don’t want to”, you rely first on the Spirit’s prompting instead of the desires of your heart. Why is the heart dangerous and our ambition selfish?
Friends, Rachel Hollis does not follow Paul’s words in Philippians. Girl, Wash Your Face is all about SELFISH AMBITION and putting yourself ABOVE OTHERS. That is NOT THE GOSPEL. Jesus did not die for us to put ourselves above others. He died for us, so that we would be right with God and never have to feel the weight of our own sins when we acknowledge and accept him as our SAVIOR. Jesus is not Hollis’s savior. I think her husband is. There are some very uncomfortable chapters about how her husband mentally abuses her and then how she accepts him back. I believe that this message is not only dangerous to promoting fairytale romances that continue to enable and perpetuate dangerous relationships, but markets a man as a savior instead of Jesus.
This book is all about the promises you make to yourself and the goals or dreams you have set. I’m sorry, but goals can be selfish. If you didn’t pray for guidance in setting these goals and if it’s to put your name before Jesus’s name, then the dream and goal you have is selfish. Point blank. That’s a sin problem that needs to be handed to Jesus in surrender and not gripped tight while scribbling it down in a notebook and then taking your life by your own hands. Living life your way and not God’s way is DANGEROUS. It leads to sin that could be avoided (because always remember that God is merciful and always provides a way out, but we often don’t take it because it’s harder), pride, lust, gluttony, selfish ambition, a god-complex (personal idolatry), and believing that you are better than everybody else. None of these messages are backed by the Bible or Scripture and I pray that this book will eventually stop being marketed to other Christians as Biblical truth, because the only truth here is Hollis’s truth and it is not in alignment with the Word.
Have you read or heard of Girl, Wash Your Face? What are your thoughts on the book? Do you believe the message is good and sound or dangerous? I'd love to hear your own personal thoughts. Let me know down below in the comments!
1 star
I’ve been wrestling with this book since I finished reading it. On first reading, I was smitten with Hollis’s personality and likability. Honestly, I feel manipulated. After months of dreading even writing or contemplating my overall thoughts on Rachel Hollis’s book Girl, Wash Your Face, I’ve come to one conclusion. This book promotes a self-help religion with plastering Jesus’s face on it to appeal to Christian women who are not strong enough in their faith to have developed discernment by reading the Word. The thing is I fell for the trap. I truly believe that the Devil convinced me to believe some of the lies Hollis spouts for a second even though the lies she wrote immediately left me feeling uncomfortable and should have been a red flag. What were those initial gut-feelings that should’ve been trusted?
• Her obsession with money and gaining personal items for wealth or influential knowledge saying, “HEY, LOOK HERE I AM RICH!” There was a chapter dedicated to her buying a fancy watch and this made me uncomfortable because Scripture warns us not to store up things with us because they will not follow us into heaven and chasing money, glory, and power are not akin to chasing the kingdom of God. Here’s the thing, if Jesus said not to hoard things for your benefit or greed then this is a red flag. I’m also struck by the story “The Rich and the Kingdom of God”. This story perfectly showcases why and how Hollis’s entire brand Christianity is thrown out and can be fed to the pigs. It’s not a true following of Jesus. It’s a following of man. Adam didn’t die for me on the cross. Jesus did and I refuse to believe and fall trap to the pretty packaged lies that Hollis wraps up in, “Girl, you got this. God has you, too. But remember that you have this more than God.” This is FALSE DOCTRINE AND IS DANGEROUS. It plants false seeds of discord into the minds of the church and it completely follows the teaching of false teaching of Jesus not being at the center.
Matthew 19:16-26 16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do
to get eternal life?”17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied.
“There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
18 “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not
commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor
your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” 20 “All these I have
kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus answered, “If you
want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this,
he went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples,
“Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.
24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than
for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard
this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” 26 Jesus
looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are
possible.”
“When you really want something, you’ll find a way. When you don’t really want something, you’ll find an excuse.”
• What about finding God first? What about going to Jesus in prayer and asking Him if this desire of your heart is from your flesh and your glory or to further the kingdom? What about those moments where you don’t want to do something because it puts you out there and instead of relying on excuses of “I don’t want to”, you rely first on the Spirit’s prompting instead of the desires of your heart. Why is the heart dangerous and our ambition selfish?
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? 1 Chronicles 28:9 “…For the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought.
If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you
forever.” Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value
others above yourselves,
Friends, Rachel Hollis does not follow Paul’s words in Philippians. Girl, Wash Your Face is all about SELFISH AMBITION and putting yourself ABOVE OTHERS. That is NOT THE GOSPEL. Jesus did not die for us to put ourselves above others. He died for us, so that we would be right with God and never have to feel the weight of our own sins when we acknowledge and accept him as our SAVIOR. Jesus is not Hollis’s savior. I think her husband is. There are some very uncomfortable chapters about how her husband mentally abuses her and then how she accepts him back. I believe that this message is not only dangerous to promoting fairytale romances that continue to enable and perpetuate dangerous relationships, but markets a man as a savior instead of Jesus.
This book is all about the promises you make to yourself and the goals or dreams you have set. I’m sorry, but goals can be selfish. If you didn’t pray for guidance in setting these goals and if it’s to put your name before Jesus’s name, then the dream and goal you have is selfish. Point blank. That’s a sin problem that needs to be handed to Jesus in surrender and not gripped tight while scribbling it down in a notebook and then taking your life by your own hands. Living life your way and not God’s way is DANGEROUS. It leads to sin that could be avoided (because always remember that God is merciful and always provides a way out, but we often don’t take it because it’s harder), pride, lust, gluttony, selfish ambition, a god-complex (personal idolatry), and believing that you are better than everybody else. None of these messages are backed by the Bible or Scripture and I pray that this book will eventually stop being marketed to other Christians as Biblical truth, because the only truth here is Hollis’s truth and it is not in alignment with the Word.
Have you read or heard of Girl, Wash Your Face? What are your thoughts on the book? Do you believe the message is good and sound or dangerous? I'd love to hear your own personal thoughts. Let me know down below in the comments!
Very honest and informative review, Sarah! Great job!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, David!
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