There is a catchy new phrase being used among Christians these days that is causing me some concern. “God doesn’t want you happy. He wants you holy.” I will be completely honest with you; this phrase makes me very, very nervous. To be fair, I think I know the message that is intended by this phrase. Furthermore, concerning his desire for us to be holy, I fully agree that God has gone to great lengths to demonstrate just how far he is willing to go in the pursuit of making us, in accordance with the pleasure of his will, a body of holy people – I Peter 2:9,10; Jude :24. However, I’m just very uneasy about the picture of God that is painted with the colors of the first part of this statement.
I could perhaps illustrate my concern by sharing with you the image that I have of Jesus, the man. All of my life I have seen pictures and images of Jesus. Each and every time those images show a very svelte man, and of course he is always shown wearing a white garment. Really? Mary always wears blue and Jesus wears white. Where do we get this stuff? Most of the time, when Jesus is pictured on the Cross, he is portrayed as a wispy, gaunt, almost anorexic physical form.
I would suggest that Jesus was not some slender, willowy man… just stop and think about it. Time and time again, what does the Scripture tell us that Jesus was doing? Eating!! He seemed to be always having breakfast or dinner somewhere. AYCE fish and chips on a hillside. (I know… it doesn’t say chips. But, when I write my version of the Bible, it will include chips.) And again, AYCE fish at a breakfast on the beach. It seems as if each and every story tells of an all you can eat feast! I would suggest that Jesus might have been carrying a few extra pounds. He perhaps could have even had a few extra inches on his waist.
What is my point? Just as I think many have a rather unrealistic image of the man Jesus, I likewise believe that many have a rather grotesque caricature perspective of Jesus, the Son of God. Was Jesus a dour and austere man? Serious and strict? Stern and exacting? Or was he silly and goofy? Capricious and whimsical; using his miraculous power for his own amusement? I would suggest that the answer is: none of the above. The answer is probably somewhere in the middle. (You might want to take a look at my blog post: The Funniest Verse in All of the Bible.) I believe Jesus had a great sense of humor, yet I’m certain that he did not sacrifice holiness for the sake of a laugh.
There was a woman in our church many years ago for whom, to be quite honest, I didn’t much care. She was too much. Too much of everything. Too much perfume. Too much hair. Too much gaudy jewelry. Too much of everything. And trust me, (those who know me well will understand) if she was too much for me… she was TOO much. Her earrings were so big that I was waiting to see a bird perched upon them. She had hot glued so many plastic rhinestones on her clothing that she was almost blinding to look at when she stood in the sunlight.
And then it happened… my worst fear… she invited Joni and me to her home for dinner. Oh, no!!! I couldn’t say no, and I was dreading what I would be forced to endure. She was just so obnoxious. However, that night, over dessert and coffee, I heard her story. It was then that I realized how wrong I had been. I left her home that night sorry and repentant for the way that I had so wrongly prejudged her. After that night, she became one of my favorite people.
This woman had grown up in a “God doesn’t want you happy. He wants you holy.” home and Church. The result was a miserable life. For many years after she left home, she likewise left the Church. It wasn’t until many wasted years later, she discovered that God indeed wanted her happy and that holiness had little to do with what she had been taught as a child. It was then that she discovered that Jesus was freedom… happy, glorious, uninhibited, hilarious, rhinestone freedom. Hearing her story changed my life. This woman had learned perhaps the greatest lesson of all. God wanted her wholly!
I would suggest that this phrase should be changed to: “God wants you happy. But even more than that, he wants you wholly.” Is holiness something to which we all should aspire? Yes. Is holiness serious business? Yes. Yet, I am reminded of the old hymn we used to sing: “All to Jesus I surrender, Make me, Savior, wholly Thine; Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine.”
Perhaps the question we must answer is: Does God want us holy or wholly? And don’t suggest to me that they are the same. They are not. I would strongly contend for the position that God wants us happy and wholly, rather than unhappy and holy. God will take me, warts and all, as long as he can have ALL of me… the whole me. The truth is that I cannot by myself give myself holy to him; for, my holiness is only in Christ alone. But, I can give myself wholly to him. Wholly surrendered is within my power to accomplish. Holiness is not.
