Board index ‹ Assorted Bible Questions

[I'll Moon You]

My career is taking off, I feel more confident, I have less weight on my shoulders, I'm not depressed—I was all of this when I was a Christian. Is this the devil tempting me with success while God prefers I be miserable but love him?

[jimwalton]

God didn't come to give us happiness, but resurrection from the dead. While happiness is sometimes the offshoot of Christian faith, it's never guaranteed. What is guaranteed is forgiveness from sins and eternity with God. Jesus says he came to serve and to give his life as a ransom. He never said, "I'm here so you can live a happy life."

Being a Christian can sometimes be a difficult life. When you look at people like Moses or Paul, their life really got difficult when they followed the Lord. Jesus himself said this kind of thing in Mt. 24.9-13.

I wouldn't say the devil is tempting you with success. Nor would I say that God prefers you to be miserable. We live our lives; some things work out, and others don't. We go through phases of good times and bad times. You're on an upswing right now. Congratulations; that's a good thing and I'm happy for you. But we are remiss to attribute our good times to either God or Satan or our bad times to them either. The book of Job is quite explicit that the world doesn't work that way (the retribution principle).

I'm sorry to hear you were depressed and felt a weight on your shoulders as a Christian. I'm quite convinced that it's not fair to blame Christianity for that. Many Christians, including me, feel quite differently in that regard. Maybe there were things about Christianity you weren't understanding properly, or that you had been taught incorrectly; I can't say. But your guess that "Satan is tempting you with success" or that "God prefers you be miserable" are both unreliable assessments of your circumstances.