“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.”
1 Timothy 6:6
When did the church buy into the American Dream? And yes, there is a lot wrong with the American Dream from a Christian standpoint. While there may be nothing wrong with the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness, when they become pursued apart from God, our religion, our faith becomes skewed. Because those being pursued apart from God leads to death, debt, and despair. We see the fruit of it all around us.
The teachings of Christ were different, they are what Paul called, “wholesome.” His teachings were about promoting a godly life. Paul further says this,
“Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions.”
1 Timothy 6:4
Huh… Jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions… That is the fruit of the American Dream. You see, the American Dream is always about making someone move up. You get a bigger house, a faster car, and a better degree. You move to the best towns, with the best schools, so you can raise the best kids who always have an edge on everyone else. This teaching by America, breeds competition and unjustly skewed opportunities. And the church has bought into it.
Look no further, than to your fellow brother and sister in Christ who makes politically divisive Facebook posts, or slanders another person on the basis of anything. Or look at those who have bought into very dangerous conspiracy theories. The pursuit of the American Dream is a lie about pursuing self-preservation as the expense of others.
Paul was writing against these kinds of teachings. Teachings that godliness and the best life, could be lived apart from God. The Dream beckons you to move forward and fast and never fall behind. But God beckons you to stop, be still, know that He is God, and that in Him we have all that we could need.
Contentment:
While there is time for action, while there is time for advocacy, while there is time for avid prayer, there is also time for contentment. That is, there is time to rest in knowing that God is in control, He has already won the battle, and He is restoring the world to Himself.
Contentment gives us time to check ourselves before we advocate and get to work with the mission Christ has given us. Because here is the weird paradox within Christianity. While we are called to the work of the Body of Christ, we also recognize that it is first and foremost the work of Christ. Along with that, our “success” and “failure” was not really ours, and in the end, nothing is a failure.
To be honest, contentment is even difficult to write about. Why? I am not always the most content person. I want to see change, I hope to be part of the transforming process of people, and like to see results. Contentment is not about results, it’s about stillness. And to be honest, to be still is hard. The American Dream calls us to hurry, but Christ is calling us to be still. It is almost easier to do something than to do what appears to be nothing.
The American Dream says, “I will get the desired outcome.”
Contentment says, “Which ever outcome happens is fine, I am in Christ.”
If that is unsettling to you, good. It may seem wishy-washy, like you don’t really care or have stance on anything. But think, in the end, will what happens really matter if you are in Christ.
That is why the church cannot buy into the American Dream, because it is a teaching that says what matters in now, not that Christ comes later. The church though is in Christ, and when the church is both being godly, fulfilling the mission that God has given it, and being content with the results and provisions, then truly, the church is wealthy.
Final Blessing:
Contentment is not the easiest practice to pick us, because to be still is not in our American way of life. We must always be doing and doing and never yielding. But the end, it has been determined and Christ is the King, the Victor, the Savior. What if we started practicing being more still? In a sense, pursuing stillness. So here’s the challenge, find a spot, where you do no work, and be still. Read some scripture, pray a bit, but largely, be still and silent. Put the phone aside and focus on Christ. Or incorporate stillness into what you do. For instance, as I write this, I am sitting on a balcony in the woods of Michigan, I can see a deer nearby and hear an eagle in the distance. What a blessings.
Now may the Lord of Life and Redemption be with you in every step, in every breathe, and every heartbeat of your journey.
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