During my
lifetime, the American Dream has been so pervasive in our values, assumptions,
and expectations that we have allowed it to be a comfortable, acceptable,
welcome part of Christianity.
The
American dream: Upward mobility. Abundance. Living the good life.
Back in my
twenties, those were my goals. I admit it. In my circles, including my church
circles, that was the thing to do—that was the way we lived.
Like I
said in “I was chasing the American Dream,” when I was a teenager and a young
wife and mother, I never questioned those goals. I never questioned my motives
for pursuing them.
What a
shock it would have been for me if, back then, I had read David Wilkinson’s
words in The Prayer of Jabez: “Do we really understand how far the American
Dream is from God’s dream for us? We’re steeped in a culture that worships
freedom, independence, personal rights, and the pursuit of pleasure.”
Christianity
and the American dream clash when our motives for getting more money and
possessions are to show off our success, to impress others with our lifestyles,
to use our status as a way to compete or exert power, or to pursue self-indulgence
and self-gratification.
My husband,
Dave, sensed I planned to pursue that kind of American dream, and I thank God
for giving me a thinking, questioning man. Dave didn’t want that lifestyle for our
young family.
This topic
is not easily covered in one short blog post, but I’ll highlight Bible verses
that spoke to my husband’s heart back in our pre-Lomalinda days (and later,
spoke to my heart, and still do):
Jesus said:
“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body,
what you will wear. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothes?
. . . Do not worry, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or
‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your
heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew
6:25-33, NIV).
The New
Living Translation words verse 33 this way: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all
else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
Eventually
I realized I needed to look at the American dream in a new way, the better way.
Dear Chuck Swindoll—my life and faith would be so different without him!—says, “If
I am to seek first in my life God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, then
whatever else I do ought to relate to that goal . . . . Every decision I make
ought to be filtered through the Matthew 6:33 filter: where I put my money,
where and how I spend my time, what I buy, what I sell, what I give away.” (Dear Graduate: Letters of Wisdom from Charles R. Swindoll )
Here’s
another of Jesus’ teachings: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on
earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not
destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure
is, there your heart will be also. . . . No one can serve two masters. Either
you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:10-21, 24 NIV).
Or, the
New Living Translation words verse 24 this way: “No one can serve two masters.
. . . You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”
The New
Century Version words verse 24 this way: “You cannot serve both God and worldly
riches.”
Each
person and family must decide how to apply those teachings of Jesus.
My husband
and God eventually persuaded me to let go of chasing after that American dream.
Instead, our
family took a big pay cut and moved to Lomalinda—no medical insurance, no
retirement plan. We had to believe God would give us everything we needed—and
He did! (And there’s a huge difference between what a person needs and wants.)
I
recommend the following for more on this topic:
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