"God wants you to be happy" And Other Un-Biblical/ Un-Christian Christianese th

Have you ever heard a 'good', Christian-sounding advice from a popular personality and wonder where he/she got that? Have you even had a friend whose statements are so Christian-like and even says that "God says that...", but upon scrutiny, you can never find it in the Bible? We all have that kind of experience and often times, we simply gloss them over, either because the sentence sounds good anyway or we simply did not bother at all.

As the concept of religion and spirituality secularize, which means that everyone can simply utter "divinity" from/as the "here-and-now", Christians (i.e. those who are regenerated in the spirit) face a crisis of pointing out what the Bible really says versus mere human opinions, in lofty phrases. Sadly, even those who are professed Believers tend to express self-made opinions as if they were Scriptures[1], by authority and practice.

Here are some top five (5) Christian lingo (Christianese) that, I am convinced, we should let go due to lack of Biblical warrant and by implication, advocate an un-Christian mindset or, even worse, counter-Christ-like mentality.

1. "God wants you to be happy."

This issue seems to be fairly the easiest to deal with. In the advent of “Prosperity gospel” and “Hyper grace teachings”, a truly regenerate person can detect that there is something wrong in this statement (see 2 Timothy 4:1-4) [2].

It is a mistake, however, to think that because this “God wants you to be happy” is a problematic persuasion, it means that God does not want us to be happy. God just wants us to see that He is the Father who “gives good gifts”, but He never spoils His children. God is a “father”, not a “grandfather”, a theologian once remarked.

So what does God want for us? Consider these three points.

1. God wants us to be holy.

We have heard the adage: “God is more concerned with our holiness, than our happiness”. Indeed true as 1 Thessalonians 4:3 and 1 Peter 1:14-16 attest.

2. God wants us to be joyful.

So, what’s the difference? Happiness is the positive emotion driven by external events or “happenings”; whereas “joy” is the positive state of mind and being despite undesirable events that happen. It is the “ability to stay afloat”, so to speak. If you think this is a matter of semantics, you are correct! This is a matter of MEANING. Appropriate meaning.

I talked to someone recently about this matter. While she had good points about what it means to be happy, her ideas seem to suffer the anemia of semantic distinction by verbally equating “happiness” and “joy”. What’s worse, is she began quoting off mark Bible verses.

There, I led the conversation to what Paul spoke about “joy”, “joyfulness” and “rejoicing” in the entire book of Philippians. As if matters were not that clear yet, I pointed out the discomfort that that insufficient view about “joy” and “happiness” brings in light of James 1:2-8.

3. God wants us to be peaceful.

You know what’s odd and unique about Christianity? The central figure, Jesus Christ, promises trials, troubles, struggles and suffering. While it promises ultimate bliss, Christianity does not make its followers a Pollyanna for believers. The Lord was so honest and did not give false hopes. But He did not leave us totally hopeless either. In fact, He assured us that He is our hope (John 16:33).

So, what must be our response? Peacefulness.

1. Matthew 6:25 onwards- “Do not be anxious”.

2. Matthew 11:28-30- Rest.

3. Ephesians 6:10- “Be strong in the Lord”.

I can readily hear you say, “Yeah, that’s good. But it’s easier said than done”. I won’t negate that idea. As a matter of fact, I totally agree. We cannot be peaceful left on our own. We need God’s grace. We ask it from the Lord. He will surely give it, not because we asked… but because He is faithful.

Finally, I am convinced that the only moment we will ask the Lord of peace, joy and holiness is when we truly take "delight" in His presence. Only by then that He will grant the desires of our heart… far exceeding than what we initially thought that would make us “happy” (Psalm 37:4). God wants us to be more than happy.

(To be continued...)

[1] For contextual clarity and verifiability, I urge the reader to read each of the quoted and cited verses themselves. Read the surrounding verses or the entire chapter so they will see the big picture and assure that there was no cherry picking at all.

[2] Bible verses and citations are from the English Standard Version (ESV) unless noted otherwise.