EVERYONE'S GOAL: The American Dream is the default life goal of our country.
- Everywhere you look, our vision, goals, desires, and plans all run toward the American Dream.
- I’ve said before that materialism is the biggest sin in America. Part of the proof for that is how pervasive our financial focus is. It’s just considered to be American.
- It’s so prevalent that it’s close to be unquestioned. I can’t say it’s unquestioned, though, because I’m questioning it this morning.
- To what extent is money the default goal of our country?
- Think about Wall Street and the way most huge companies are run. The only thing that matters is their profitability. That’s the only thing that Wall Street looks at. It doesn’t matter how you’re treating your employees. It doesn’t matter if you’re providing health care and retirement. It doesn’t matter if you have great customer service. It doesn’t matter if you’re making a positive impact in your communities. The only thing that matters, to the exclusion of all else, is maximizing the amount of money you make.
THE POSTER CHILD FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM:
1. HE IS A MAN OF SUCCESS.
- Luke 12:17.
- He’s so successful that his farm was insufficient to hold the abundance. This is a man of success.
- We have sympathy for the hurting and the struggling, but we idolize success.
2. HE IS A MAN OF PLANS AND VISION.
- Luke 12:18.
- This man has a plan and a vision to deal with his situation. He’s going to remove the existing barns and build bigger.
- We love and admire people of great vision. We like people who come into the room with a plan of action.
3. HE IS A MAN WHO KNOWS HOW TO ENJOY LIFE.
- Luke 12:19.
- Once he accomplishes his vision, then what? Well, he’s intent on kicking back and enjoying all the good things of life. He’ll have plenty for the years to come so he’s going to soak all the good things in.
- This guy is the personification of the American Dream. He’s all that we admire in the American Dream.
- There’s so much here for us to admire, but what does God think of our American Dreamer?
IF HE'S DONE SO WELL, WHY DOES GOD CALL HIM A "FOOL"?
- Luke 12:20.
1. A DEEP WALLET ISN'T AS IMPORTANT AS A DEEP SOUL.
- Luke 12:17.
- We act like money success is the main goal of life. In fact, “soul success” is a whole lot more important.
- We don’t pay nearly as much attention to spiritual things as we do to material things.
- Let’s just think for a second about time spent.
- Compare the amount of time you spend on money things in your life with the amount of time you spend on soul things.
- I know you have to earn a living, but, still, it’s a lot of time. Time at work. Time spent shopping. Time spend surfing Amazon. Time caring for your possessions. And on and on.
- I’m not saying that we should do none of that. We do have to work, you do have to clean the house, and you do have to buy things from time to time. But when you think of how little we spend on our soul, it’s pretty dramatic.
- What soul time do we spend? An hour in church? Do we pray more than a minute a day? Do we read the Bible very often? Do we serve?
2. THIS MAN'S VISION ONLY EXTENDS TO THE HERE AND NOW.
- Luke 12:18.
- He has plans, but they all have to do with the few years in front of him. He has no thoughts of plans beyond this life.
- How long do you think you’re going to live? 75, 90, or 100? Or eternally?
- The answer should make a big difference in how you live your life.
- We need to make plans with the understanding that there is life beyond this life. We are not called to concentrate all our plans and visions on building something in this life, but in building something that lasts beyond this life. We’re going to be talking over the next few weeks about how to do that, but more on that in a moment.
3. YOUR PERSONAL COMFORT IS NOT THE GOAL OF LIFE.
- Luke 12:19.
- Of course we want to have joy in life and we want to enjoy life, but there’s more to life than just our personal comfort.
- Just to name two things:
a. Christlikeness.
b. Helping others.
GOD'S THOUGHTS ABOUT US: Does God look at America and say, “They’re go-getters” or “They’re fools”?
- Luke 12:20.
- We’re awfully impressed with ourselves. We admire people who are go-getters. We look up to people who can make things happen.
- What if (and given this passage there’s a pretty decent chance of this being true) God doesn’t look at us with admiration but with sadness? What if he looks at us scurrying around in pursuit of the almighty dollar like a bunch of ants and thinks, “Don’t they know better?” What if he looks at us and thinks, “They’re fools”?
- Part of my job this morning is simply to look at the American Dream and say, “It’s the wrong path.” The first half of the battle is turning away from the wrong.
- This message has focused on the wrong path that too many take. What’s the right path? As you look in v. 21, it gives another warning: “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself. . ..”
- But then it gives a word of hope. Instead of this pointless path, we can choose to be “rich toward God.” That’s quite a phrase! What exact does it mean? Well, I want to talk about that over the next three weeks. Next week we’ll talk about what being “rich toward God” looks like. The following week we’ll talk about exactly where to invest if you want to be “rich toward God.” Then we’ll talk about how to invest more.
- I want to lay out a specific vision of what the better path looks like.
- But for this morning, will you acknowledge the path toward the American Dream is fallow ground?
