The American Dream, so-worded by early European settlers moving into north America, was the belief that through hard work, courage, and determination, one can achieve financial prosperity. There is nothing wrong with this statement; in fact, I believe it to be true. Over the years, however, the American Dream has become something quite different. In the 21st Century, the American Dream is seen as the belief that material wealth is the true measure of success and happiness.
The American Dream misses the entire point of happiness. This is easily seen by all of the high-rolling businessmen and women who have money sliding through their fingers like sand in a sieve, yet they fall into sexual immorality or drug and alcohol abuse or plain suicide. All of this should raise red flags: the American Dream is not the end-all solution to the problem in our hearts. If it were the solution, why would those who "attain" it feel so empty, so hollow, so... alone? Why would they attempt to find true happiness in other areas: drugs, alcohol, sex? Why would they finally give up and leap from fifty-story buildings? The American Dream - success and happiness is found in material wealth - is not working.
And why should it work? Humans are not designed in the way that the American Dream supposes. At the heart, our problem is not lack of wealth; it is lack of intimacy. In the Garden, we experienced intimacy with God, intimacy with others, and intimacy with creation. Because of our selfishness, greed, and indifference (commonly referred to as sin or "lawlessness"), these intimacies were shattered: now we ravage the environment, we use and abuse others, and we worship false gods. And when we pursue the one true God, we constantly get caught up in smaller pursuits. We live in a fallen world where loneliness and suffering and pain and grief are on our doorsteps, on the front porches of our lives (and breaking the windows into our hearts too often). When we try to suave the pain away with material wealth, we dig a deeper hole; why? Because not only do we ignore the three intimacies - the loneliness we experience stems from this! - but we give in to greed and hope that it will bring us happiness. It never does.
The American Dream is flawed because it has an inaccurate view of what humanity needs. Humanity does not need more wealth, we do not need more malls, we do not need more movie theaters or strip joints. We need more intimacy. Not cheap intimacy, either. Don't confuse biblical intimacy with casual sex. At the heart of human suffering is the need for intimacy; it makes sense, then, that true happiness is found in intimacy with God, intimacy with others, and intimacy with creation.
The purpose of the cross, I believe, was to shatter the Fall, and in so doing, make these intimacies a reality for us now. Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is among you." But it is not complete; the Kingdom of God we experience now is a mere shadow of what is to come. We can experience intimacy with creation, intimacy with others, and intimacy with God, but these intimacies are often played-with, toyed-with, twisted and abused. We still neglect creation. We still hurt and use other people, even within God's community of the Church. We still neglect our relationship with God and run after other things. We are fallen creatures in a fallen world, and although we are redeemed and although we are being transformed by God's Spirit within us, we are still fighting the sinful/fallen natures within us. And so we still experience loneliness.
The American Dream is not the answer to loneliness. We will never escape loneliness in this lifetime; the closest we can get, however, is found in Christ. In the end, there will be consummation - there will be a new heavens and a new earth, and there we will experience unbridled intimacy with God, intimacy with others, and intimacy with creation.
The American Dream is powerless to help us, yet so many Christians (oftentimes, including myself) think that it is the answer. We are plagued by it, poisoned by it, choked by it. Yet we must abandon it. We must recognize that it's claims are empty, that it's promises are lies. We must run to Christ, for in him we find true love, joy, and peace, and only in him will we one day experience that what we all desire so strongly: true happiness.
The American Dream misses the entire point of happiness. This is easily seen by all of the high-rolling businessmen and women who have money sliding through their fingers like sand in a sieve, yet they fall into sexual immorality or drug and alcohol abuse or plain suicide. All of this should raise red flags: the American Dream is not the end-all solution to the problem in our hearts. If it were the solution, why would those who "attain" it feel so empty, so hollow, so... alone? Why would they attempt to find true happiness in other areas: drugs, alcohol, sex? Why would they finally give up and leap from fifty-story buildings? The American Dream - success and happiness is found in material wealth - is not working.
And why should it work? Humans are not designed in the way that the American Dream supposes. At the heart, our problem is not lack of wealth; it is lack of intimacy. In the Garden, we experienced intimacy with God, intimacy with others, and intimacy with creation. Because of our selfishness, greed, and indifference (commonly referred to as sin or "lawlessness"), these intimacies were shattered: now we ravage the environment, we use and abuse others, and we worship false gods. And when we pursue the one true God, we constantly get caught up in smaller pursuits. We live in a fallen world where loneliness and suffering and pain and grief are on our doorsteps, on the front porches of our lives (and breaking the windows into our hearts too often). When we try to suave the pain away with material wealth, we dig a deeper hole; why? Because not only do we ignore the three intimacies - the loneliness we experience stems from this! - but we give in to greed and hope that it will bring us happiness. It never does.
The American Dream is flawed because it has an inaccurate view of what humanity needs. Humanity does not need more wealth, we do not need more malls, we do not need more movie theaters or strip joints. We need more intimacy. Not cheap intimacy, either. Don't confuse biblical intimacy with casual sex. At the heart of human suffering is the need for intimacy; it makes sense, then, that true happiness is found in intimacy with God, intimacy with others, and intimacy with creation.
The purpose of the cross, I believe, was to shatter the Fall, and in so doing, make these intimacies a reality for us now. Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is among you." But it is not complete; the Kingdom of God we experience now is a mere shadow of what is to come. We can experience intimacy with creation, intimacy with others, and intimacy with God, but these intimacies are often played-with, toyed-with, twisted and abused. We still neglect creation. We still hurt and use other people, even within God's community of the Church. We still neglect our relationship with God and run after other things. We are fallen creatures in a fallen world, and although we are redeemed and although we are being transformed by God's Spirit within us, we are still fighting the sinful/fallen natures within us. And so we still experience loneliness.
The American Dream is not the answer to loneliness. We will never escape loneliness in this lifetime; the closest we can get, however, is found in Christ. In the end, there will be consummation - there will be a new heavens and a new earth, and there we will experience unbridled intimacy with God, intimacy with others, and intimacy with creation.
The American Dream is powerless to help us, yet so many Christians (oftentimes, including myself) think that it is the answer. We are plagued by it, poisoned by it, choked by it. Yet we must abandon it. We must recognize that it's claims are empty, that it's promises are lies. We must run to Christ, for in him we find true love, joy, and peace, and only in him will we one day experience that what we all desire so strongly: true happiness.
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