A popular television preacher, known for his positive messages of self-affirmation and achieving personal happiness, wrote a book titled Every Day a Friday. Now, this idea appeals to me because I happen to like Fridays. It’s dress down day at work, people seem to be in a good mood, and I usually look forward to a pleasant weekend. Apparently, I’m not alone. Studies suggest that people are happiest on Fridays, so I suppose the whole point of the book is that we can be happy every day.

On the other hand, I’m not so sure what all that has to do with the Bible or with being a Christian.

Jesus said that he “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). His work of service reached a grueling and agonizing conclusion while nailed to a cross one Friday over two thousand years ago. Prior to that he told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

In this life of self-denial we choose to love because “God is love” (I John 4:8). Real love is more about decisions demonstrated by actions than it is about feelings. When those happy feelings are present, we should enjoy them. When they aren’t, we must simply do whatever love requires, even if it hurts and we need to put aside our own desires.

Perhaps every day should be like a Friday, but my expectations for what that means need to be more in line with Jesus than with some smiling media celebrity.