Jesus saves from the American Dream.

"The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position."
                                                                                               "Epic of America" by James Truslow Adams\

The background of my phone has the simple words from the title of this post, "Jesus Saves from the American Dream."  When showing it to a friend of mine, I wasn't prepared to explain what it means.  I had briefly thought about it, and knew i liked the meaning behind the phrase, but to explain it is a different story.  So, here is my attempt. 

First, a story from John Piper's "Don't Waste your Life"


"In April 2000, Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards were killed in Cameroon, West Africa. Ruby was over eighty. Single all her life, she poured it out for one great thing: to make Jesus Christ known among the unreached, the poor, and the sick. Laura was a widow, a medical doctor, pushing eighty years old, and serving at Ruby’s side in Cameroon. The brakes failed, the car went over a cliff, and they were both killed instantly. I asked my congregation: Was that a tragedy? Two lives, driven by one great passion, namely, to be spent in unheralded service to the perishing poor for the glory of Jesus Christ—even two decades after most of their American counterparts had retired to throw away their lives on trifles. No, that is not a tragedy. That is a glory. These lives were not wasted. And these lives were not lost. “Whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:35).
I will tell you what a tragedy is. I will show you how to waste your life. Consider a story from the February 1998 edition of Reader’s Digest, which tells about a couple who “took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30 foot trawler, play softball and collect shells.” At first, when I read it I thought it might be a joke. A spoof on the American Dream. But it wasn’t. Tragically, this was the dream: Come to the end of your life—your one and only precious, God-given life—and let the last great work of your life, before you give an account to your Creator, be this: playing softball and collecting shells. Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgment: “Look, Lord. See my shells.” That is a tragedy. And people today are spending billions of dollars to persuade you to embrace that tragic dream. Over against that, I put my protest: Don’t buy it. Don’t waste your life."

The American Dream is a Tragedy.   We credit America for having Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, we credit the Troops for our freedom, and we claim, as Christians, to be Citizens of The United States of America, boldly shouting God Bless America and all that jazz.  All the while we are called to be Citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, who happen to live in the earthly country of America.   Our rally cry should not be God bless America, but Glory to God alone. We shouldn't be trying to "bring America back to a Christian Nation", but we should bring forth the Kingdom of Heaven.  By saying some of the things we say about this country, we are taking glory away from our Father.  Having the American Dream, of 2.5 kids, 3 cars, and a house and garage large enough to hold all of it, tragic.  The dream of prosperity, tragic, if that is the end of your dream.  If God is not the full on focus of it all, we are pursuing filthy rags.  Jesus saves us from all of that. 

I absolutely believe that God  has put America here for a purpose, but it isn't our comfort and freedom.  It has nothing to do with us, or the American Dream.  God has put America here for His Glory, and nothing else.  What if we really lived as Citizens of Heaven?  What would that look like?  How would it change?  What if we focused on bringing forth the Kingdom, rather than Taking back this Country?  What if we Trusted in God for health care, Bailouts, and Immigration Reform?  What does He say about those things?  How do our laws/ views of how the law should be for health care and Immigration line up with the scripture, and Love thy Neighbour?  Are we wasting our life pursuing the American Dream, or are we pursuing Jesus?

"God is pursuing with omnipotent passion a worldwide purpose of gathering joyful worshipers for Himself from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. He has an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the supremacy of His name among the nations. Therefore, let us bring our affections into line with His, and, for the sake of His name, let us renounce the quest for worldly comforts and join His global purpose." John Piper.

I know i ranted a little.  And some of this may only be loosly related to the subject at hand.  The questions posed are questions i have asked myself over the last weeks.  Feel free to answer them also.