We are the problem.

I've read several blogs today in regards to the current outrage at Joel and Victoria Osteen's latest teaching. A teaching in which Victoria stood up on stage and stated “I just want to encourage every one of us to realize when we obey God, we’re not doing it for God–I mean, that’s one way to look at it–we’re doing it for ourselves, because God takes pleasure when we are happy. . . . That’s the thing that gives Him the greatest joy. ” She continued by saying "So, I want you to know this morning — Just do good for your own self. Do good because God wants you to be happy. . . . When you come to church, when you worship him, you’re not doing it for God really. You’re doing it for yourself, because that’s what makes God happy."

And people are outraged. People are commenting on the lack of truth to this statement. The absolute contradiction to scripture in the teaching, the lack of Jesus Christ in the Osteen's message...and I agree with every single one of those arguments. But I'm here to say this- WE have created the "Osteen predicament" as some people are calling it.

We have created a culture where happiness is the goal. We have sat in our church pews for far to many years focusing on what we're getting out of the service. We fight over whether to have contemporary songs or hymns. We fight over whether to wear pants or dresses. We fight over whether to have electronic tithing or to continue passing the offering plate. Should I go on? Because I could. The list could go on forever because we have created a church, a culture, and subsequently a gospel that is all about us and how following God makes us happy. Maybe our preachers aren't standing up on Sunday and speaking the lies that seem to pour out of the "Prosperity Gospel" (Thank you Jesus for those pastors that continue to preach the TRUTH of God's Word every single week!) but I would argue that as a whole, that's the gospel we're living.

I wonder how so many who call themselves Christians could cling so tightly to the teaching of the Osteen's when it seems to blatantly contradict the teachings of Christ but I'm here to tell you, I live out that line of thinking way more often than I'd like to admit. A bigger house. A better job. A better car. More money. Nicer clothes….ME. ME. ME. That's the gospel I portray to those around me and I'm ashamed of that. I am the problem.

I am the reason that America is eating up the teachings of people like the Osteen's all over the country. We are the problem. We are living the prosperity gospel in our individual lives and in our churches. We have abandoned the truth of the Gospel. We have abandoned the radical teaching of Jesus in which he commanded the rich man to leave EVERYTHING and follow him.

"Looking at him, Jesus felt love for him and said to him, 'One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow Me.' But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property." - Mark 10:21-22

We are going away grieving at the things Jesus is asking us to give up. Because those things make us happy and we deserve to be happy.  Or at least that's what we tell ourselves.We have accepted a watered down gospel in which following God is about what we get out of it. A watered down gospel where we give so that we get back, where we stay in our comfortable seats and expect others to go, where we say "to each their own." We have become so politically correct that we don’t want to say the wrong thing in fear of offending anyone. We have bought into the lie that God's ultimate goal is our happiness so it's no doubt that mainstream America has as well.

Do you not see the destruction that our actions have caused? Do you not see a country and a world that is falling apart around us because this prosperity gospel doesn't hold weight in the hearts and lives of broken people? I don't know about you but I don't wake up every morning and look out and see a lot of happy people. What I see are a lot of hurting people. People hungry for the truth of scripture, God's love, and His direction for their lives. But we have failed them. We have sold them lie after lie that says "Follow God and life will be great." And when that hasn't happened we wonder why they throw their fist up at God and  say "I want nothing to do with you."  We have stood up beside them and said, "What's best for you is to do what makes YOU happy." You want to be in a homosexual relationship...well if that makes you happy. It's your body and you want to have an abortion...well if that makes you happy. You aren't happy in you marriage and you want to have an affair...well if that makes you happy. Wait. What?

Here's the problem in this culture we have created-  In a gospel where our happiness is the key, there becomes no absolute truth. No rules. No law. Nothing is taboo. Because whatever makes ME happy goes? Right? Isn't that what we said? If I want to go out and murder then that’s ok right? If I want to do x, y, or z, even if that affects you, its ok right? Because those things make me happy. WRONG. That's not how our society works. We have laws. We have rules. We have guidelines we have to follow whether they make us happy or not. And that shoots holes in the foundation of the prosperity and happiness gospel. 

When it comes down to it, we want laws, rules, and guidelines for others to follow but we want them on our terms and when we want them. That's how we want our Jesus as well. We love the idea of a God that sent His son to die on the cross for our sins so that we can live forever with Him. We don't like the idea of a God that asks us to daily take up our own crosses to follow Him. We love the idea of a God that pours out His blessings on us. We don't like the idea of a God that asks us to give up everything in service to Him. We like the idea of serving God when it only means showing up to our air conditioned church building with its fancy screens and comfortable pews. We don't like the idea of serving God when it means going to places where we have to meet in secret places, where our safety is not guaranteed, and where we might get dirty.

The truth is, the happiness gospel has no weight for a single mom struggling to put food on the table for her children, a hurting woman just diagnosed with cancer, a child who's Dad just left and isn't coming back, or for persecuted brothers and sisters around the world being killed right now for their faith. Those situations don't scream happiness to me. That's what Mr. Osteen and his wife are forgetting. Those are the people WE have forgotten in our comfortable American churches and our comfortable American lives where we chase after the elusive American dream. If happiness and prosperity in those situations is the only hope of the gospel, we have no hope at all.

As Albert Mohler said  in his blog post The Osteen Predicament "Mere happiness cannot bear the weight of the Gospel. The message of the real Gospel is found in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave is only Son, that whoever beleives in him should not perish but have eternal life." that is the message that can be preached with a straight face, a courageous spirit, and an urgent heart in Munich, in Miami, or in Mosul. If our message cannot be preached with credibility in Mosul, it should not be preached in Houston."

 As he said, the truth of the Gospel is this- that God sent His son to die on a cross for our sins so that through relationship with Him we can have eternal life. As believers God's ultimate plan for each of us is to bring Him glory. Not our health, wealth, or happiness. His glory. Not ours. As we seek true relationship with Him, our focus becomes His focus. Our thoughts and desires conform to His thoughts and desires as we seek to bring Him glory. And that brings joy to our lives. A joy that remains despite our current situation or predicament. Not a fleeting happiness but a joy that wholeheartedly abandons the things of this world and chases after the Savior no matter where He leads.  Not my glory but the Saviors. Not my happiness, not my comfort, not my safety, but His glory.  Because that is the radical truth of the Gospel. And if we decide to stop being the problem, if we decide to stop selling the lies of the happiness and prosperity gospel to everyone around us by our daily actions, if we decide to take a stand for God's truth, and we decide to live  the radical truth of His Gospel, we might just change the world. For His glory.

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through him who gives me strength." -Philippians 4:11-3