Seventeen years. That’s how much time has passed since I preached my first “sermon.” I’ve still got a recording of it somewhere on a cassette tape. During my college years I preached for a rural congregation where a handful of Christians gathered and endured my undeveloped proclamations week in and week out. That lasted almost two years until I moved to Paris, now nearly ten years ago. In spite of my inexperience I developed some mantras that have remained in my preaching repertoire.
One of those mantras is, “At the center of Christianity is a cross.” This is a little play on the similarity in appearance of the English letter “T” and the Roman cross. But it’s so much more than that. It refers to one of the central teachings of Jesus Christ – one that American Christianity, at least in my experience, tends to overlook: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
While living on a Christian college campus I began hearing and seeing this phrase all over the place: “Do what makes you happy.” I wasn’t surprised to find society at large making happiness its chief goal. I was a bit surprised, and definitely concerned, however, to observe many of my peers – who grew up in Christian homes and attended a private Christian university – buying into this mindset. Simply put, pursuing happiness (even if it is in the Constitution) is neither biblical nor practical. It seems that the more people chase happiness, the more elusive it becomes. True happiness (perhaps we call that joy) doesn’t come from pleasure, fun, comfort, or complacency. According to Scripture, joy comes from contentment, and paradoxically, contentment comes from discomfort. That’s one of the key applications of Paul’s letter to the Philippians.
“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
Clay Leonard
