(PHOTO: FRED OWEN)
Craig Groeschel, senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv, speaks at the NewSpring Leadership Conference in Anderson, S.C. on Sept. 6, 2012.
Craig Groeschel, the founding and senior pastor of the Oklahoma-based LifeChurch.tv megachurch, said in a sermon that it may sounds good when someone says God wants us to be happy, but the truth is otherwise.
Pastor Groeschel preached about what he called the theology of happiness, as part of a sermon series, “God Never Said That.” He said the belief that God wants us to be happy can be problematic for at least three reasons.
One, it leads us to conclude that whatever makes us happy must be right, and whatever makes us unhappy must be wrong. Two, it could also make us believe that any discomfort, delay or risk cannot be God’s will. And three, without even knowing it, we could begin to worship money and comfort.
God does not exist to serve us, but we exist to serve Him, the pastor reminded the listeners. God is not a “Cosmic coke machine,” he added, that whatever we want and whenever we want it, we can just push the button and get it.
Many of us wrongly expect a raise in the salary or our favorite team to win just because we are doing the right thing “because I pushed the God button,” Groeschel said. It’s as if, “If I’m not happy, God failed me.” That’s the problem with the “cultural Christian world” or “the American version of Christianity” today, he explained.
The pastor gave the example of his two sons, both of who play football. He said when they play and are happy, he delights in them. However, “my highest priority is not their happiness, but their behavior.”
Similarly, he added, “His presence and His will is the goal … He wants you to pursue Himself.”
Groeschel gave the audience two principles to know when God doesn’t want us to be happy.
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SOURCE: The Christian Post
Anugrah Kumar
