American Dream Vs. Heaven's Teachings

I don't think that the "American Dream" is the same as "Heaven's Teachings."

Historically, people have been welcomed into America to pursue a dream of success and prosperity, which many say, are a direct result of hard work, determination, and initiative.

In Heaven's teachings, people are welcomed to freely live enfolded in the love of God, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Each are gifts and can never be earned.

In America, greatness seems to be associated with the mastering of a talent, skill, or business... all of these have the potential to bring fame, along with, of course, fortune.

However, if a person wants to be great in God's kingdom, they must be the servant of all.

Here in the USA, as much as we wish it wouldn't matter... color, ethnicities, gender, sexual orientation, economic and social status do matter.

In the kingdom of heaven, those things are not even considered. As the Apostle Paul said, per The Message: " In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us, you are all equal."

Here, the American dream is attained by tenacity, competion, or just a doggedness to achieve no matter the cost.

In God's kingdom, again per The Message, these words in all likelihood, will continue to be a guide for its follwers, "Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead."

I've been a Christian for many a year and I can tell you that never once has my nationality had anything to do with my religious beliefs. Nor has my religious beliefs asked me to maintain my standing as an American to grow spiritually.

I'll acknowledge that my religious beliefs do guide my political philosophies. However, in and of themselves, my beliefs and my philosophies don't make me a better American than any other American who believes or thinks differently than I do.

To be clear... to pursue the American dream is both an opportunity and a choice, but it has absolutely nothing to do with Christianity. In fact, as we have seen, they seem to be the antithesis of one another.

If we use a convoluted version of Christianity and nationality as a standard to judge the character or sincerity of a person, we are using a faulty gauge which automatically will produce faulty results. It also reflects more about the person who is judging than the one being judged.

And just as importantly, it is a flagrant misrepresentation of God and his kingdom. Whether we are talking about the here and now or the eternal, God will be found where the religious ones fear to tread... among the everyday and ordinary people.

When we distort America by our biases, we tarnish our reputation because in that distortion liberty and justice have cease to be for all.

And in the process we lose credibility when we distort God's goodness to obtain our desires. And yet, even in our faulty representation, He will always and forever remain good and faithful to all.

The American Dream and Heaven's Teachings are two completely separate ideals and they should never be commingled.