What if God does want you happy? I mean, is it so hard to fathom that the God of the universe who gave His Son to die in your place because of His great love for you would want you to experience happiness?
Churchy Response: No! He only cares about your joy, not your happiness!
Victoria Osteen has been slammed in the last week for her statements on “worshiping God, not for God, but for yourself.” And not coming to church for God, but for yourself. And not doing good for God, but for yourself. Why??? BECAUSE GOD WANTS YOU HAPPY.
One of the things that happens when someone makes a huge enflamed statement like this is that people immediately jump on the religious bandwagon, and begin slamming the person who made the statement. And it’s not like people were not looking for the opportunity! I’m sure the person who edited and posted this probably films EVERY Joel Osteen broadcast, hoping for something that they can use to boost themselves to e-fame. And when Victoria made this statement: Boom! Jackpot! And would you believe it? It worked. Why? Because it doesn’t take much to set off the masses when your name is Joel Osteen or you are affiliated with him.
The problem is that in the midst of the chaotic “Christian Hate” we miss that there is a real question that much of the world is asking.
Does God really care about my happiness? Cause Christians don’t seem very happy.
I totally disagree with Victoria Osteen’s statement. But I disagree with the way we are portraying Christianity and a loving God who loves His people.
As Christians we value tears. Have you ever looked around during a worship service to see how many people were shedding tears? I’ve done it, and if you’re a Christian you’ve probably done it! There’s something incredibly refreshing about worship that draws emotion out of us at times.
Or have you seen the ones crying at the altar as they repent of their sin, or pray for a loved one, or pray about… anything? Maybe you’ve been there yourself! It’s emotional.
But what are we portraying about a limitless God when our emotions have a tendency to be limited?
There is a church in Canada that experienced a strong move of God that was characterized by laughing. As people filled the altars, it wasn’t tears that they experienced, it was almost uncontrollable laughter.
Had they been crying and weeping, no one would have said a word. But because they were laughing, experiencing a different than normal emotion in the church, they were pegged as lunatics. Heretics, by some!
You can laugh at jokes. You can laugh at your kids. You can laugh at yourself. You can laugh at the pastors sermon! But you can’t laugh at the altars!
I believe that God wants us to be happy. I don’t believe that it’s His number one priority, but I do believe that He wants it for us. The same way a father wants to see his children enjoying their toys at Christmas. The same way a mother loves to see her children giggle when she reads them a silly bed time story.
Maybe the reason so many are laughing at the Gospel, is that we are not laughing because of the Gospel.
"And Sarah said, 'God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about it will laugh with me.'" - Genesis 21:6
One of my favorite moments as a Christian leader took place up at a Christian camp. We had taken a small group of students on a midnight hike, and asked them to pray about what God might want them to leave there in the valley, in the dark, in a place where they’d never be able to find it again (symbolically). As we prayed, one of my students said he needed to share something, and began to tell us that for the last 6 months he had been considering suicide. He began to sob as he told us what he was going through, and the choices he had almost made. He was a big guy, but now he was doubled over, bawling.
We immediately surrounded him, and began to pray and to release the love of the Father over him, and ask for healing. As we prayed, things began to change, and all of a sudden this young man raised up and began laughing to the heavens. And I don’t mean a chuckle. I mean a deep, from the bottom of his belly LAUGH.
And it continued. And soon we were all laughing with him. And the next thing I knew one of my other students was on the ground. I didn’t know if he fell, or what, but he was just sitting there. I shined a light on him, and asked if he was okay. He simply responded, “I don’t know what happened, but I keep hearing this amazingly joyful music. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.”
What if healing doesn’t just come through tears, what if it comes through laughter as well? What if as the Father releases His love, it doesn’t just bring out the tears, it brings out the joy? What if laughter is not weird, it’s just that we’ve limited ourselves to the crying.
What if tears were your only emotion in every aspect of life? What if you could only cry at jokes? What if you could only sob when you’re watching your favorite comedy?
What if the comedy clubs banned laughter because it was just too weird to have room full of people acting that silly?
Tears are good. They’re just not the only available expressions of healing, or simply enjoying the presence of God. Or thanking Him for what He's done! Which opens the door to other emotions: anger (you can be angry and not sin!), yelling (what’s wrong with a good shout every once in awhile?) What other emotions can you see being expressed in the Father’s presence?
We serve a creative God. We need to get with the program.
Back to Victoria Osteen. Stop and ask yourself the questions her mistaken comments are bringing up. Don’t allow the enemy to steal your learning moment with anger towards what will hopefully be used by the Spirit of God as a learning moment in Victoria’s life. Let God handle her, and let God handle you. We’ll all be better… and HAPPIER… for it!
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