When Dreams Become Nightmares

April 11, 2010
Timothy 6:6-10; Matthew 16:24-26

Economically, this is a scary time. We wonder whether the economic crisis is over or will get worse. We no longer trust government or financial institutions or big banks. Our cynicism and lack of trust has made us fearful of what will happen in the future. Things are depressing. Investments, homes, and jobs have been lost – and the dream of a better day has been put on hold. We wonder if things will ever get better?

We have all been affected by this crisis differently. Some have felt the crunch first hand, while others have hardly been affected at all. What we have in common though is what the Bible promises and what we believe – during times like this, we can trust God to be our strength and refuge. Our hope doesn’t lie in more money “but rather on God.” Timothy says wanting more money IS the problem: “Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith, and pierced themselves with much grief.” (1Tim. 6:10b) The wisdom of Ecclesiastes says, “The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity.” (5:10) And Matthew says, “For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? (16:26)

Adam Hamilton, pastor at Church of the Resurrection and author of this series, suggests that the church is to be a beacon of light in the midst of life’s storms inviting people to find deliverance, redemption, hope, and a new way of life. Hopefully over the next few weeks this series will not only illumine our lives, but will also enable us, as the body of Christ, to become a beacon for others in our community as together we discover joy through simplicity and generosity.

The American Dream characterizes the greatest hopes, desires, and dreams of most Americans. For most people, this “dream” is about an inner desire for becoming successful at what they do and satisfying a desire for accumulating material possessions. This “dream” is the opportunity to pursue and get more than what we have, to achieve success, and all its rewards. And along the way, we tend to measure our success by the stuff that we possess.

As a country, we have become people in the pursuit of instant gratification. The love of money and the things money can buy drives most Americans to do what they do. We want to consume, acquire, and buy our way to happiness—and we want “our happiness” now. But the American Dream has become an American Nightmare due to two distinct yet related illnesses that impact us both socially and spiritually – affluenza and credit-itis.

Affluenza is the constant need for more and bigger and better stuff—as well as the effect this need has on us. It is the desire to acquire things, a virus most of us have been infected with to some degree. Consider that the average American home went from about 1,600 square feet in 1973 to 2,400 square feet in 2004 and that today there is estimated to be 1.9 billion square feet of self-storage space in America. 1

Credit-itis is an illness that is brought on by the opportunity to buy now and pay later, and it feeds on our desire for instant gratification. Our economy today is built on the concept of credit-itis. Unfortunately, it has exploited our lack of self-discipline and allowed us to feed our affluenza, wreaking havoc in our personal and national finances. The average credit card debt in America in 1990 was around $3,000. Today it’s over $9,000. The average sale is around 125 percent higher if we use a credit card than if we pay cash, because it doesn’t feel real when we use plastic instead of cash.

Credit-itis is not limited to purchases made with credit cards; it extends to car loans, mortgages, and other loans. The life of the average car loan and home mortgage continues to increase, while the average American’s savings rate continues to decline. Yet there is a deeper problem within.

There is a spiritual issue beneath the surface of affluenza and credit-itis.
Our souls were created in the image of God, but they have been distorted. We were meant to desire God, but we have turned that desire toward possessions. We were meant to find our security in God, but we find it in amassing wealth. We were meant to love people, but instead we compete with them. We were meant to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, but we busy ourselves with pursuing money and things. We were meant to be generous and to share with those in need, but we selfishly hoard our resources for ourselves. All of this turns us away and separates us from God.

Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Lives are ruined everyday by drugs, by stealing, by extramarital affairs or by other things. But lives are also destroyed in the pursuit of the American Dream — keeping up with the Joneses, borrowing against our futures, enjoying more than we can afford, and indulging ourselves. This pursuit often robs us of our joy, makes us slaves, and keeps us from doing God’s will.

Jesus told his followers, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” (Matthew 4:10); “good seeds are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life and their fruit does not mature.” (Luke 8:14); “what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” (Mark 8:36); and, “in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith.” (1 Timothy 6:10)

The Bible’s solution is simple: we need a change of heart. Although we receive a changed heart when we accept Christ, in a sense we need a change of heart every morning. Each morning, before we get out of bed, we should pray, “Lord, help me to be the person you want me to be today. Take away the desires that shouldn’t be there, and help me be single-minded in my focus and pursuit of you.” Doing this would invite God to cleanse us from the inside out, purifying our hearts.

Hearts are changed when we allow Christ to work in us. It happens as we seek first his kingdom and strive to do his will. As this happens, we start to sense a higher calling – a calling to simplicity and faithfulness and generosity. We begin to look at ways we can make a difference with our time and talents and resources. By pursuing good financial practices, we free ourselves from debt so that we are able to be in mission to the world. A key part of finding financial and spiritual freedom is found in simplicity and in exercising restraint. With the help of God, we can:

• simplify our lives and silence the voices constantly telling us we need more
• live counter-culturally by living below, not above, our means
• build into our budgets the money to buy with cash instead of credit
• build into our budgets what we need to be able to live generously and faithfully

Next week we will continue as we consider “Wisdom and Finance.”

1 “Self-storage Nation: Americans Are Storing More Stuff Than Ever,” by Tom Vanderbilt, July 18, 2005; http://www.slate.com/id/2122832/.
2 “Credit Card Debt Statistics,” by Mark Brinker, August 2008; www.hoffmanbrinker.com/credit-card-debt-statistics.html.