The Deadly the American Dream: A Warm Retirement

-
If you are an American, then you have been sold a lie. You have been told from birth that your life should be one of accumulation of personal wealth, banking on portfolios and looking forward to the blessed hope of retirement.

But he said to him, "A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.' And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.' And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.'" (Luke 14:16-24)

God has blessed our country with much wealth, but we have become worse than Sodom:

Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it. (Ezekiel 16:49-50)

We are devastatingly banal. We have settled for the mundane. We think that a field will fulfill. We think a new car will elevate our existence. Our socioeconomic status is our strength. We are at ease in our air-conditioned houses with space-age mattresses. We need desperately to be gripped by a reality that is bigger than a 401k.

We are so far removed from the New Testament's context of suffering that we miss the point of the hope of an eternal vision of Christ's glory. The infinite majesty that brought all things into existence has been exchanged by our society for a comfortable fifty-or-so years at the end of one's life. This is absolutely absurd. Either God satisfies or money satisfies. We are all guilty. We have bought the dream, and it has cost us our souls.

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matthew 16:26)

God may give us what we want: a warm retirement....

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Great Little Book on the Gospel

-
Image
R. C. Sproul has said that the American Church is in Pelagian Captivity. Basically, this means that we have misunderstood the doctrines of that surround God's grace with regard to saving sinners. Our understanding of God's grace has such an influence over how we view the world, ourselves, and God. How do we become a holy people? Can we lose our salvation? These things must be understand, but they cannot be discussued without a proper biblical foundation. In addressing these questions, we find ourselves quickly at the point where we wonder, "How are we saved to begin with?" James Montgomery Boice (now deceased) and Philip Graham Ryken wrote a wonderful book that addresses the work of God in salvation! This is an extremely readable book that will be encouraging to the believer. Hard passages from the Bible about these things are not ignored, and the the believer will be challenged to be biblical in their doctrine in spite of the worldly philosophies propagate
Read more

Pray for Zimbabwe: Election on March 29th

-
In a previous post , I relayed the horrible situation dealing with  Zimbabwe's economy.  The presidential election will be held tomorrow, and anything could happen.  The hope is that a civil war will not break out.  We put our trust wholly in the Sovereignty of God, and we affirm the words of Daniel: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings ; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding."   (Dan 2:20b-21) This recent article from the BBC may be helpful as you pray over the Sovereign Lord's appointment tomorrow.  Yes, He is sovereign, yet we are still responsible for our action/non-action!   It is a sad thing when the bride of Christ is numb to the suffering in the world.  May she weep over the terror in the world, but may the tears shed not be shallow.  They must be tears of action and compassion.
Read more

John Piper's Response to N.T. Wright Due Out by Nov. 1

-
Image
John Piper’s response to N. T. Wright is due for release on November 1, 2007 ($5.00 + shipping if you pre-order here by Oct. 31). If you have no idea what N. T. Wright has said about justification and what all of this is about, then there are some resources available for you. First, Desiring God Ministries has a seven part Q&A with John Piper that they have been releasing on their blog . Here, Piper gives the background necessary to understand the controversy. The whole interview can be found here . However, you may want to select only those parts that you haven't heard. Interview with Piper on Wright, Pt.1 : Who is this book for? Interview with Piper on Wright, Pt.2 : Who is N. T. Wright? Interview with Piper on Wright, Pt.3 : What do you believe about justification? Interview with Piper on Wright, Pt.4 : How is Wright’s view of justification different than yours? Interview with Piper on Wright, Pt.5 : What’s the problem with Wright’s view of imputation? Interview with
Read more