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"God Just Wants Me To Be Happy"
Brian Mashburn
August 16, 2015
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Does God Want You Happy?
It might be the most popular myth in our culture. I've heard it used to justify all forms of self-indulgence, from gluttony to divorce, from consumerism to cosmetic surgeries, from conflict-avoidance to suicide.
The myth? God just wants me to be happy.
I've not found a verse in the Bible that says this, but our culture sings right along with it as the soundtrack of our society. "Theologian" Sheryl Crowe, for example, sings: "If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad."
This innocent-and-true-sounding myth ingrains into you the idea that "whatever makes me happy must be right, and whatever makes me unhappy must be wrong."
Left unchecked, you will start believing that discomfort, delay, risk, suffering, inconvenience, and obstacles cannot possibly be God's will for you.
Before you know it, and completely unaware of how unchristian you've become, you are justifying things that are overtly spoken against in scripture as you worship the false gods of comfort, money, pleasure, and things.
At the core of this myth is the belief that GOD EXISTS TO SERVE YOU, when all of scripture, with unified voice, agrees with Jesus who says: "Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only." (Matthew 4:10)
Do you want to pursue a life that is always "just so" in order for you to feel happy? Or do you want to pursue a God that allows you a peace and joy that is untouched no matter what life brings?
God doesn't just want you "happy," but holy. Because He knows it is the far superior way to live.