We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.

Is America God’s Favored Nation?
Is money a sign of God’s blessing? If so then the more you have the more blessed of God you are. If a church has more money, then more of God’s favor is on it. If a country is wealthy, then we can claim God’s favored status. But is this the way God sees things? In the following, Greg offers a different perspective:
________________
“Jesus once told a parable about a rich farmer who “yielded an abundant harvest” (Lk 12:16). His crop was so plentiful he didn’t have enough space to store it. After thinking about the matter, the farmer decided he’d simply tear down his barns and build bigger ones to store his surplus food. He could then “[t]ake life easy; eat, drink, and be merry (vss. 16-19). In other words, with his stored-up wealth he could retire and live “the good life.”
I suspect most Western people would have thought the same way. The man frankly seems like nothing more than a good capitalist. What should you do if you receive an unexpected inheritance or win the lottery? Quit work, buy nice stuff, save for the future, and enjoy life. It’s the “American Dream.” It all makes perfect sense (if you’re thinking like a good capitalist). Yet, God called the man a fool (Lk 12:20-21).
Neither the OT nor the NT are against wealth itself. The problem was that this wealthy man was not “right toward God.” He did not submit his wealth to God but instead considered only how he and his family could benefit from his fortunate harvest.
All indications point to the conclusion that most Americans have become entrapped in this view of wealth. Studies have consistently shown that the richer we’ve become, the more we’ve kept for ourselves and the less we’ve given away. This isn’t to say that all Americans are greedy. Many individuals are incredibly generous. But as a nation, we’ve become entrapped by our wealth.
Many people claim that America is a nation uniquely favored by God. We are ‘blessed,’ they say, as is evident from the fact that we have an unprecedented amount of wealth. But consider how we spend enough on entertainment each year to feed all of the hungry people on the planet for a year. Almost two thirds of Americans are overweight, while close to a billion people on earth are malnourished, with 40,000 people dying each day from illnesses related to malnutrition and extreme poverty.
Jesus said, [W] to you who are rich…” And, “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.”
Perhaps we should be careful about making claims about the favored status of our nation. One could argue that America is a nation positioned to be uniquely judged by God.
We’re conditioned to think that living with as much luxury and convenience as possible—the “American Dream”—is what life is all about. Whatever we may theoretically believe about God, we’re conditioned to find happiness, worth and security in things.
We who are committed to living under the reign of God are called to revolt against the consumer culture and the powers that fuel it. Though Jesus was rich, he made himself poor (2 Cor 8:9).
True joy, peace and wholeness is found in sacrificing for others. This shouldn’t surprise us since we are made in the image of the servant-God who divested himself of his privileged status to identify and sacrificially serve impoverished humanity. We are most fully human, most fully alive, when we reflect this image.”
Category: General
Tags: America, Finances, Kingdom Living, Wealth and Responsibility
Related Reading

Christianity and American Politics
Greg was recently featured in Missio Alliance’s Seminary Dropout podcast to share his thoughts about the role of Christians in American politics. Today we’re sharing part 1 of that conversation. What is the role of the Christian in American politics? Should Christians vote? In this election filled with scandal and unprecedented vitriol, how can we display…

Friday Lights: Living the Best Day Ever
Each Friday we post content sent to us by our readers that is inspiring, funny, lighthearted or just generally fun. If you’d like more information on submitting content for this feature you can get more information here. Today’s post comes to us from Brandon Andress. This is a post from last December from his website. Very inspiring.…

Jesus Feminist
http://youtu.be/FBYELPZmdL4 Sarah Bessey’s book Jesus Feminist releases today. We’re so excited for her and for anyone who gets to read this book. She is first, and foremost a disciple of Jesus, and her embrace of feminism is inextricably wrapped in her identity as a disciple. Here’s a little snippet of something she’s written that beautifully…

Trapped in a Constantinian Paradigm
A Response to James Smith’s Review of The Myth of a Christian Nation In my book The Myth of a Christian Nation I repeatedly call on Christians to engage in social activism. Followers of Jesus are called to be revolutionaries, I argue, meaning that we are to revolt against the status quo insofar as the…

Q&A: Already-Not-Yet
Question: My question is regarding our “entanglement” with Christ that you spoke about a few weeks ago. In the sermon you noted how we are joined with Christ like those two particles that can be separated by light years of distance and yet both will react equally to a force acting on the other one. So here is my question: If…

Does Nonviolence Work?
The teaching of Jesus on nonviolence strikes many as ludicrous, impractical, unpatriotic, irresponsible, and possibly even immoral. “Surely Jesus expects us to take up arms against Muslim extremists to protect our country and families!” If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard something like that response, I’d be a fairly wealthy man. The…