So there is a little bit of truth in what Mrs. Osteen says. Be obedient to God, worship God, do what God wants, in part because it is in your own best interest to do so and will bring to you the kind of true happiness that lasts. But Mrs. Osteen’s message is so badly stated, so subject to misinterpretation (and possibly a form of misinterpretation of which the Osteens would approve) that it is best to throw the whole message out and start from scratch.

When I first saw this video of Victoria Osteen’s comments, I thought this was too easy to poke fun at. The video (with or without the spliced-in scene from Bill Cosby’s old t.v. show) was its own best caricature. However, after reading Dr. Al Mohler’s excellent reflections on Mrs. Osteen’s faux pas (“The Osteen Predicament—Mere Happiness Cannot Bear the Weight of the Gospel,” Sept. 3), I gave the matter more thought.

I wince to say this, but I think I can partially defend Victoria Osteen (who, by the way, has—can you believe it?—2.5 million “likes” on her public Facebook page). It is true that “doing good” does benefit ourselves (in our “inner human”) and Jesus himself sometimes appeals to our self-interest in his teachings (the parable of the Good Samaritan is one of many examples).

Mrs. Osteen’s problem is that she didn’t insert the word “just” into the appropriate place in the statement: “When we obey God, we’re not doing it [just] for God. . . . When you come to church, when you worship him, you’re not doing it [just] for God really [strike ‘really’].” Unfortunately, she put the “just” where it does not belong: “Just do good for your own self.” No, our primary motive should be to do good for the sake of the one who loved us enough to die for us (Gal 2:20).

But at times when that motivation doesn’t suffice (and, if we were to be honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that it doesn’t always suffice, though it is to our discredit that it doesn’t always do so), it might help us to remember that it is in our own best interest to do good. For if we do not live holy lives for God as a manifestation of true faith, then we do not live by faith under the controlling influence of Christ’s Spirit (life “in Christ”) and so run the risk of exclusion from God’s kingdom. Our consciences and souls, if not already seared (a big “if”), will also experience grief. Moreover, we may destroy good relationships with others.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism gives a better formulation than Mrs. Osteen: Our “chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.”

Okay, I have to admit a second problem with her remarks. She erred in saying that our “happiness” is “the thing that gives [God] the greatest joy.” Reword to: “something that brings God joy, so long as it doesn’t conflict with kingdom interests.” I doubt whether we can say that Jesus was “happy” in the way that Mrs. Osteen meant during the hours in which he was suffering an excruciating death on the cross.

Read More