The Falsehood of the American Dream

There is no other passage that highlights the failure of the American Dream than Luke 12:13-21. Let me put it here for us: 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul is required of you, ’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Before we look at the lie of the American Dream, let's look at what is the American Dream.

Wikipedia says, "The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth". While there is nothing in and of itself wrong with being blessed, this should never be seen as equal to the will of God for our lives or God's ultimate plan for our lives.

Here is the falsehood found in the American Dream found in Luke 12.

• The Amount of Possessions Equals Life (Luke 12:13-15) - Jesus says here that life does not consist of possessions. This should be enough for us to shift our thinking away from the pursuit of things to surround our lives with.
• Bigger, Newer and More Always Means Better (Luke 12:18) - The man kept none of his old barns, but he needed bigger and newer barns. There was nothing wrong with the old barns, he could have built a few more smaller ones or even figured out a way to give away his abundance. This thinking never entered into his view of things.
• Comfort is the Ultimate Aim of our Lives - (Luke 12:19) - Instead of continuing to be a man who worked hard, he decided comfort was better and that he deserved a life of leisure and relaxation. The whole focus of his quitting from working was that he could become the center of the fruit of his labor.
• All of This is Solely Mine - (Luke 12:20) - The man thinks it is all his, but really it is not in two ways: 1. Belongs to God 2. Someone else in the end gets it - "and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?" We better be careful how strong we all our hands to grip things.
• Consumerism and Stuff Protects our Soul - (Luke 12:20) - The only thing that can protect our soul is being rich toward God. How does one do that? Foundationally, one has to trust in Christ alone for salvation. Being rich in this life does not tip the scales in our favor for gaining salvation.

Don't let the falsehood of the American Dream grip you so strong that you never see your life being rich toward God.