Christianity and the American Dream
So that ‘reinventing yourself‘ thing? Yeah, that.
Leave it to me to over-analyze, but I’m trying to figure out how this all works. I committed to wait and pray, but is that all I’m supposed to be doing?
The reason I ask is this: people have lots of opinions about how this works. Some people say just to follow my heart, my dreams, my gut; other people say that I need to do what makes me happy. Still others say that God gave me a brain so I can figure things out, make decisions, and just choose.
I’m not so sure about all of that. If I really believe that God created me and created me with a specific purpose, wouldn’t it make sense that He would have an opinion about this?
I feel like I understand that kind of thinking in the context of the American Dream – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But somehow, I feel like we translated that into a Christianized version of the American Dream – the “Christian” American Dream: a great marriage, 2.5 kids, a dog, a house, 2 cars – oh, and by the way, we go to church on Sundays. And Bible studies, prayer meetings and we only listen to Christian music.
But isn’t it still all about ‘us,’ even if we’ve dressed it up in a Christian package?
I wonder if we sometimes use God as a means to an end to get the kind of life we want. We add Him into the mix, but still, isn’t it what WE want?
I’m not saying that I don’t think God wants us to be happy or blessed. But I’m trying to find, understanding the whole council of Scripture, where it says that we should be chasing our dreams. The kind of happy and blessed that I feel like we are all chasing after.
In fact, I don’t really see any example in the Bible of a person who decided ‘X’ was his dream and he just went for it, with the whole backing of the Godhead cheering him on. Now. I do see those whom God commissioned for certain purposes – and they had the whole backing of the Godhead. Am I missing something?
I’m sure there was lots of happiness and joy and fulfillment along with it – but as far as I can tell, that was a by-product; it wasn’t there motivation for pursuing a certain course of action. Most of the time – it was a matter of obedience, a response to a call, a commission from God to serve a purpose.
And let’s be honest – a lot of times, when they fulfilled these purposes, it wasn’t necessarily good for them. In an eternal sense – yes. But as far as the earthly fulfillment of dreams? I don’t know, I can’t really see Jeremiah’s or Moses’ or Paul’s or any of the apostles’ lives looking like the American Dream.
I don’t really see anyone in the Bible going after what they wanted and expecting God to come along for the ride.
But is that what we do today? We have dreams, plans, ideas…and we want God to stamp it with His approval while we chase after them. Now, I do think there is such a thing as a God-given dream, and I don’t think we should discredit every dream in our heart. But nowhere do I see in Scripture someone who had to work in their own efforts to make this dream come true. And even at times, God nixed their dreams (e.g. David wanting to build the temple).
I believe God gives us dreams, talents, and gifts to be used. And I think there is a degree in freedom and a whole lot of creativity in how we use them (The parable of the talents?). But in something as big as a life-changing decision, I really think God has something to say about it. If I believe He has a plan for my life, then I don’t necessarily have to chase it. All I really need to do is obey what He tells me to do and stay close to Him so I don’t miss opportunities (or take ones I shouldn’t).
I can say that, in the big decisions of my life, I never had to pull myself up by my bootstraps and ‘make’ it happen. Sure, I had to do some work, put in some effort, make a choice – but that was only in response to what He was putting on my heart to do. Or, I wasn’t sure and I just took a few steps to see what He did from there. Sometimes, it was nothing. Not what He had for me. Other times, doors opened. But there wasn’t a lot of ‘me’ involved.
As I look back, most of the major life-changing moments found me; I really did nothing to make them happen. I suppose I was where I was supposed to be – maybe that’s something, but I didn’t chase any dreams or follow my heart. I just followed God – and He brought the opportunity to me.
Some might criticize and say that’s too passive; it’s not taking enough initiative. Maybe, but I don’t really see it that way.
Why would I burn time and energy in something that is either A. bound to fail, and B. (and worse) not God’s will for me? I know other people don’t see God’s will as something so tight and exact. In every case, I don’t necessarily, either…but it brings me a great deal of comfort to know He has a plan and it’s really not my job to ‘find’ it or chase it or figure it out.
Because, really, as much as this flies in the face of our Americanism, it’s really not about me and my dreams. And truth be told – you know the first ‘Americans’? It wasn’t about their dreams either. In fact, this is what William Bradford had to say when he wrote the Mayflower Compact:
“Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia…”
Those first arrivals to America didn’t come for themselves. They came because they saw themselves as part of God’s plan, and as Bradford later related, even if they were only “but stepping stones to others in the performance of so great a work.”
That doesn’t really sound like the American Dream to me. Doesn’t even sound like the American Christian Dream.
We are willing to do what we need to do if it is a stepping stone to our dreams. But are we willing to be stepping stones in a great work of God, for His eternal purposes – whether or not it looks like the fulfillment of our earthly dreams?
This has a lot of repercussions if we live in a counter-cultural way like this. The ripple effect is huge – both here and now for us and for what’s to come in eternity. But this kind of reminds me of another favorite quote by my man CS Lewis:
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
That’s a little closer to the American Christian Dream – or what it should be.Aiming for heaven. Becoming a stepping stone. Letting go of chasing our dreams.
Might it be hard? Yes.
Include sacrifice? Yup.
Might it cost the release of chasing our earthly dreams? It might.
Worth it? Absolutely.
I love this post girl because I believe so many times we have our own dreams but we don’t ask God if they are also His dreams.You hit the nail on the head!! Instead, we ask Him to bless them. SOOO backwards! I heard a sermon not too long ago that sometimes God plants dreams into our hearts and then we must wait for the right time but too often we rush ahead and don’t seek the next step, but instead jump ahead three or four steps. Then there are times where we do seek the next step but take three steps instead of the one we were instructed to take. Make sense? lol! love ya girl! Thanks for this post!
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Great message you heard! It’s so true – and I really think it is counter-cultural to NOT pursue your dreams and wait on God. It takes a lot of sifting to figure out what is really from God and what is just what we want. Lots of letting go…but I’ve often found that when we let go, a lot of times, God will give back to us what we’ve given to Him. Thanks for sharing those thoughts! Always an encouragement, girl!
Great post!! I wrestle with all of this and have had many conversations with others about it all. Have you read “7” by Jen Hatmaker? It’s not exactly the same topic but goes along with a lot of what you’re saying here. I wrestle most with this term “calling” and what we’ve made it out to mean. From my study of the Bible I see people follow God/Jesus. That is their calling. To be after his heart, about his business, becoming his disciple and the “special work” or “calling” comes as a result of following him. I think as we seek first His kingdom and righteousness all other things are “added” including calling. Because at the end of the day calling is really just a way to describe/discern purpose and meaning in our living and breathing and waking to face another day… Whatever that work looks like we want confidence in it’s meaning and that it’s done for a purpose. I am encouraged by the quote “Only one life,’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” Really enjoyed this post. Thanks for sharing!!
ALW
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I haven’t read that book – but I totally agree with you! I feel the same way about the word ‘destiny’ too – like our destiny has to be this great ‘calling’ where we change the world in these dramatic ways. For some it might look like that, but I think the kinds of people God picks for those kinds of roles weren’t seeking out those kinds of roles! They were just doing what you said – Following God daily, obeying Him daily, seeking Him daily… I really, really believe that if we are obeying His voice in our lives, that’s what our calling is. You are so right – we don’t seek a calling – we seek HIM. Love. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, AnnieLaurie! Looking forward to when you get writing again (after Lent I hope??)
I read an article this last week that was along these same lines. It said that Americans need to stop saying “we’re blessed” when we have material possessions or get a job promotion, etc. because it isn’t Biblical. Jesus said “Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, those who are persecuted.” I have to say I was convicted. When I say I am blessed, I don’t want others to feel like they’re doing something wrong when they don’t receive the same material gifts as me(especially in foreign countries) Like you said, I think there is a lot of confusion about blessings and pursuing our dreams because what American mind set teaches us isn’t what the bible is necessarily teaching, and it’s kind of a blurred line for me at times. As always, I love your posts:-)
Wow, Amy, ,that is so convicted! You are right..we say things like that all the time! And I definitely agree that the line is blurry b/t American Christianity and Christianity. But if we are looking to the Bible for our example…it doesn’t always look American! It’s hard to remember that, really and truly, we are citizens of another country!
Thanks for reading and for your support, Amy! I am hugely grateful!
Wait a second. You said you were going to wait and pray. Well, it’s only been two days and already you’re getting antsy!
LOL – very observant!! Now, isn’t that just about all of my problems in a nutshell!!! I need to be better at waiting and praying! Thanks for reminding me!
Beautiful post. I have wrestled with this whole idea many times. I have right now come to the same conclusion you have (but I reserve the right to change my mind!) that following God one day at a time, one step at a time leads us into His dreams for us. But I don’t think there is anything passive about that. Following God means giving up my agenda, my plans and the well-meaning ideas of what we have been taught that a Christian mom, wife woman should be about. It means, at times, swimming upstream instead of just floating down. Nothing passive about that! Thanks, Kate for a thought provoking post.
Thanks for your insights, Diane. I definitely think it is very counter-cultural to approach life this way. And I think, without realizing it, we get swept into this very American mindset. Really, Scripture totally speaks of our lives being devoted to Him….nowhere do we see people of God charting their own territory. Very unAmerican! Our lives are His – and I don’t think that is always a very popular approach, even among Christians. But if we believe in Christ, that really is the bottom line…He calls the shots. And I do think that it, in many ways, involves the desires of our hearts….but it fits into HIS plans for us and concerning us – not ours to commandeer.
Thanks for sharing your insights, Diane. I am always blessed~! So nice to see you around again!
Kate, I have to tell you, I walked away from my computer and your post, but it didn’t leave me. It’s been on my mind all morning. Maybe because I just joined a Leadership Training Group and the first question asked had to do with this subject and as usual, I drew a big blank. I can’t fill in the blank of the what’s God’s big plan for me. Frustrating. In my time of praying for my son who is 15, I prayed that God’s perfect plan would be done in his life. As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I felt a tremendous weight on me and realized I had just prayed a burden on my son. A burden to determine what is God’s perfect dream for him. I change my prayer to God, please help John to be a man who follows after you. It never struck me like it did today the pressure that can come from trying to figure out God’s great dream for me. Thanks for getting me thinking on this. If you are going to do this for a solid month, I am going to be stretched!
Wow, Diane – that’s incredible! First, I just love how sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s voice you are! Awesome! I see the same desperate feeling come over lots of my students…what is God’s perfect plan? We make it a lot bigger and more complicated than it is…we follow Him, and by doing, we walk right into ‘His perfect dream’ for us – if that even exists (I’m inclined, honestly, to think it doesn’t – not in the way that American Christianity makes it out to be). But by following Him, we are IN His will already. Nothing to figure out.. (I’m sure I’m oversimplifying a little here, but you know what I mean. It’s not as complicated as we have made it!).
Thanks for sharing this, Diane! I will be praying this prayer for your son, too!
thanks Kate, I do appreciate prayers.
“In fact, I don’t really see any example in the Bible of a person who decided ‘X’ was his dream and he just went for it, with the whole backing of the Godhead cheering him on. Now. I do see those whom God commissioned for certain purposes – and they had the whole backing of the Godhead. Am I missing something?” – I LOVE this post! Wow, so well said. This can also be said of wealth. WHY do we seek excess money? He provides for our needs! And if Jesus and His disciples are any indication, wealth isn’t in the cards. 😉
So true, Valerie!! I think even as Christians, we equate ‘success’ and ‘blessing’ the same way the world does. It almost seems counter-cultural to buck this American way of thinking/living. But truth be told, our American lifestyles aren’t always so biblical. Not saying everything about our culture is wrong. Just saying that we really need to be on guard about what we embrace as part of our thinking.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Valerie! So good to see you around again!
We certainly do need to be on guard! Whatever you spend your time doing is what’s ultimately the most important to you, right? That should not be the same as non-believers. :/
This is such a good post. Maybe, as Christians, we do equate ‘success’ and being ‘blessed’ the same way the world does, but we shouldn’t. Humans are selfish. We want what we want, and then we want God to want that for us and to “bless” us with that too. It’s so backwards! God did not send His Son to save us so that we could be comfortable, or wealthy, or even happy. He came to set us free from the things of this world. And if we are in Christ, we are blessed regardless of our earthly circumstances. Extra money, a great job, a great house in a great neighborhood… all those things are just extra. God’s plan for our lives is that we might be saved, and then be salt and light to the rest of the world… to the people we come in contact with each day. That’s His plan for His children. And then, all the other desires He puts in our hearts, the talents and gifts He gives us, those are great extras! (:
That’s such a great and accurate perspective, Logan. I really think we forget that we are bought with a price and we aren’t our own. God really has us hear for HIS plans..yes, blessings are part of it, but not the only part. And what we define as blessing isn’t always what is best for us – long-term or spiritually! But I think we get it backwards, even as Christians. Just shows how easily we have let our culture around us begin to affect us.
Guard our heart with diligence, right??? Thanks for sharing, Logan!