American Dream?

“American Dream”

 

All work no play may have made Jack a dull boy

But all work no God has left Jack with a lost soul

But he's moving on full steam

He's chasing the American dream

And he's gonna give his family finer things

 

“Not this time son I've no time to waste

Maybe tomorrow we'll have time to play”

And then he slips into his new BMW

And drives farther and farther and farther away

 

Cause he works all day and tries to sleep at night

He says things will get better;

Better in time

 

[Chorus]

So he works and he builds with his own two hands

And he pours all he has in a castle made with sand

But the wind and the rain are comin' crashing in

Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands

His kingdom stands

 

Well his American Dream is beginning to seem

More and more like a nightmare

With every passing day

"Daddy, can you come to my game?"

"Oh Baby, please don't work late."

Another wasted weekend

And they are slipping away

 

'Cause he works all day and lies awake at night

He tells them things are getting better

Just take a little more time

 

[Chorus]

So he works and he builds with his own two hands

And he pours all he has in a castle made with sand

But the wind and the rain are comin' crashing in

Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands

His kingdom stands

 

He used to say, "Whoever dies with the most toys wins"

But if he loses his soul, what has he gained in the end

I'll take a shack on the rock

Over a castle in the sand

 

Now he works all day and cries alone at night

It's not getting any better

Looks like he's running out of time

 

[Chorus]

'Cause he worked and he built with his own two hands

And he poured all he had in a castle made with sand

But the wind and the rain are coming crashing in

Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands

His kingdom stands

 

All they really wanted was you

All they really wanted was you

All they really wanted was you

How many times have we let our stuff get in the way of our relationships?  With our friends? Our family? Our God?  In the song “American Dream” it tells the story of a man completely wrapped up in his career to the point where he loses sight of what is actually important in life.  He puts everything in second place behind his work, so that he can get more things, to have a “better life”.  The first time I heard this song one line kinda stuck out to me, it’s the first line of the chorus “And he works and he builds with is own two hands”.  I wondered “how this could be bad?”. He wasn’t stealing to better himself. He wasn’t lying about what nice things he had. We’re constantly told by the world to be self sufficient and independent; to have an “each man for himself”, “survival of the fittest” mentality.  But at the end of the day what are we working for? Who are we glorifying? Is it all about me? Or all about God?  Once I thought this all through and heard the song again I heard that line different.  He may not have been stealing money or things to get ahead, but he was stealing time from his family. And He may not have been lying about all the things he had, but he was lying to himself about how to fix it- he thought if only he could get to the “finish line” he’d be happy and could spend time with his family then.  However that line will always be out of reach because it’s not the answer that’s going fix anything.  If we’re always focused on what new toy we can get or what new stuff we can get our hands on, when can we focus on God?  It’s not bad to have nice things, or to want them, but it’s when we get attached to these things that we have problems.  This attachment and dependence on material things can and will prevent us from fully relying on Christ. In Scripture, Christ tells us this:

 Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.  The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand.  The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined."

-Matthew 7: 24– 27 

The chorus of “American Dream” touches on this verse too, and what it’s telling us is if we build our lives on material things, on things of the world, on sand, our lives won’t be secure and when tough times come knocking on the door everything we think we’ve built will come come crashing down.  But if we build our lives on God, and make him our rock we will always have that to fall back on, and will be able to stand up against hard times.

God doesn’t just tell us to do something and hope we can figure it out on our own, he tells us how to do it.  And one way he tells us to live and calls us to do is live with a spirit of charity.  By doing this we can keep ourselves in check and remember that it’s not all about us.  We need to put God first, others second, and ourselves last.  Charity is another word for love, and it’s this kind of love that Christ is talking about when he commands us to love our neighbor.  If you have something that you haven’t touched in the past 6 months, you probably already forgot it’s there, and I’m sure someone else could enjoy having it.  Put those in need before yourself, and give those excess things away.  Itll make you’re life simpler and will bless their life.  Its good all the way around!