Keeping It Real

Ok, I want to set something straight about Christianity, because the other day I was watching Joel Osteen on tv and he really irritated me.

I don't normally watch televangelists, for several reasons. Mostly because when I watch TV I want to be entertained, not sermonized. Also, I admit that I am probably prejudiced and judgmental. But a friend of mine introduced me to Joel Osteen's show, and I have seen it a few times now. And every single gosh-darned time I get mad. Here's this young, Billy-from-Melrose-Place lookalike pacing back and forth on a massive velvety stage in front of his vast, sparkling, upper-middle-class audience at his church in Houston, TX, and he is basically running a self-help seminar with the words "God" and "prayer" occasionally thrown in to make it sound religious! He rambles on (and on and on) about the power of positive thinking, about how God just wants to rain down blessings (generally of a financial nature) on each one of us, and how we just have to CLAIM THE PROMISES that God gives us in his Word (many of which, if he quotes them at all, are taken out of context). It drives me absolutely nuts, because he is not telling the truth about Christianity.

So, here's the truth. To paraphrase a quote from one of my favorite movies, _The Princess Bride_: "Christianity is pain...anyone who says different is selling something."

Please don't misunderstand me on this. I am not saying "Christianity is _a_pain" (as in, a pain in the...butt). Sometimes it can be! But that's not what I mean. I also don't mean, "Christianity is _only_ pain and you will always be depressed and sad and pathetic if you are a Christian." That would be completely ridiculous, and if I said that, I would be lying, on the opposite extreme of Mr Osteen's feel-good theology.

So what AM I saying? Well. I have been a Christian for a long time now--somewhere in the neighborhood of 26 years. And if there is one thing that I have learned, it's that God is not about being our "happiness genie." God is about growing us up into men and women of character and faith and strength and courage. These virtues don't come without a price, and that price is usually exacted in blood, sweat, and/or tears. I'm not trying to scare anyone by saying this, I'm just telling the truth. God promises not to leave or abandon those who take the path of following his son Jesus, but he does NOT promise that the path won't wind through some pretty murky territory.

Look, if someone comes along and all they tell you about Christianity is that God wants to bless you and make you happy all the time, don't buy it. God DOES want to bless us, but his blessings aren't always what we're looking for. Believe me, I know this from experience. And on the flipside, if someone comes along and all they can tell you is how miserable you will be as a Christian, don't buy that either. Christianity isn't about extremes, or it shouldn't be. It's about being real, and it encompasses ALL aspects of the human experience--pain, joy, elation, despair. If you don't believe me, just read the Psalms in the Bible. I can tell you that they weren't written by someone who was just coasting along on cloud 9, naming and claiming promises of health, wealth, and invulnerability when he wasn't busy writing songs all about how great life is!

In the end, I guess I get mad at people like Joel Osteen because they are taking the easy way of telling people what they want to hear. True Christianity is not what people want to hear. That was made pretty obvious 2000 years ago when the Man who started it all got nailed to a cross in a Roman execution. But Joel never talks about that either. His audience sits there dutifully taking notes with Bibles open on their laps, and he tells them absolutely nothing at all.

Give them something real, man--you owe it to them.