I have taken a few minutes out from working on my sermon to write this post. I had to do it.

I was looking over my books on my shelf to find a quote and I noticed something that I never saw before. Two books with two completely different worldviews were leaning against each other. They have been there for years and I never saw it before.

One book is not hard to miss because on the cover is smiling Joel Osteen. He is dressed up in a nice blue blazer, bright white teeth gleaming and his glamour shots haircut is styled perfectly. The cover of the book reads, “Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential.” It is a book about positivity, harnessing success, and finding fulfillment in life. John C. Maxwell on the back cover writes, “Everybody will find something useful in this wonderful book.” Nice, nice, nice…. all is nice.

The other book that was leaning against it is a book that is easy to miss. The fonts are not the best, the picture is blurry and the writer has a funny name, Wurmbrand. There is nothing truly compelling about the book’s cover. And the title is the worst, “Tortured for Christ.” The book is all about how Richard Wurmbrand was placed in Romanian prisons for over 14 years because of his dedication to Christ. The Communists hated his faith and he suffered for it. On the back of this book, it reads, “Months of solitary confinement, years of periodic physical torture, constant suffering from hunger and cold, the anguish of brainwashing and mental cruelty.” Horrible, horrible, horrible…all is horrible.

So which way is it? What is the real Christian worldview, nice or horrible? I see no real way of bringing these two accounts together?

The nice one has become a bestseller, millions of copies sold! The horrible one has inspired thousands to cherish their faith. One makes us happy, one makes us hungry for Jesus to come back. I find it is so much easier to fall into the smiling trap of Joel Osteen’s message: “You can have anything you want when you have God.” We can have happiness, ease, comfort, romance, and money. I find Joel’s message, though easy, is very selfish and destructive. It is also not biblical: come to God so you can get what you want.

The other message is hard. God is worth the pain of waiting. God is worth the hatred of the world. God is worth it. This message is biblical.

I once heard a story of a young man who went to propose to his fiance’. He had saved up for a large diamond ring. He had the night set up perfectly: he would pick her up, take her to dinner and then propose to her on one knee at her favorite fancy restaurant. It was going to be a surprise!

As he drove up to her house he had the ring box in his front coat pocket. He looked great. Dashed on some cologne, and pulled up to her house excited as ever. As he honked the horn she came running out to get into the passenger seat, not knowing that this was the night he was going to propose. She looked fantastic!

As she sat down he couldn’t stop smiling. She said, “What is it? I know something is up?” And in his excitement, he took out the ring and proposed right on the spot! He couldn’t wait. When he opened the box and she saw the gleaming diamond, she said in tears, “This is what I have always wanted!” She put it on and it fit her delicate hand perfectly. She held it up higher and said, “Isn’t it wonderful? I have to go show mom.” And she rushed out the car flashing it to her mom, dad and everyone else who would come see.

She then ran upstairs to her bedroom slamming the door behind her. Her boyfriend was left downstairs sitting on the couch. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes went by as he waited. Finally, he went up to her room and knocked. Opening the door he said, “You ready to go, I have dinner reservations?”

She was still staring at the ring in the mirror not noticing he was at the door. He said, “You ready to go?” She looked over and said, “Oh, it’s you. You can go ahead without me, I have everything I want right here!” There she sat, staring at the shining jewel. Smiling.

Is Christianity about me or falling in love with God? Is it getting or is it knowing? Is it finding ease’ and comfort in the moment, or worshipping God even when it is hard?

Which worldview is it? They both can’t be right!