What Happened To The American Dream

What’s going on in our world? Every day things seem to be getting worse. People are losing their jobs, the stock market is down, the banks are teetering on collapse, and it seems that things are simply spiraling downward. Someone even recently told me that the end of the world is coming soon. I asked, “How do you know?” She said, “Look at all the horrible things happening in our world.” I certainly see her point. What’s worse is that it seems to be a rigged game. You know a con game like “Three card Monte”. It seems to me that the people or agencies that our country has long entrusted as keeping society safe have failed us. Crime is rampant. Oh, I’m not talking about “old fashioned” crime of break-ins, theft, even violence, although we have plenty of that. I’m talking about the criminals who have robbed our retirement accounts, savings, and allowed systems to enable unscrupulous people to profit from it all. Much of this “white collar” crime is to blame for our country’s economic and social problems, even the world’s problems. It seems that the world has become more and more Darwinian, survival of the fittest. The Golden Rule seems to be “he who has the gold rules!” And the question is what can we do about it?

Conventional wisdom seems to be at a loss here. I have listened to smart people debate the issues that are in front of us. Little has changed. Maybe we must begin to acknowledge that our problems are not new. I am not a prophet of gloom and doom. I am a realist who

looks at the world my children and grandchildren will inherit and I wonder what it will be like for them. History tells us that ancient Rome fell and many, many other empires have come and gone. If we are going to continue, things must change and change soon.

Our society has to begin to realize that people matter, especially the common person. Jesus tells the story of the widow who gave her last two coins to the church in Luke 21. Jesus’ point is not that the poor widow has given all that she had, the point of the story is… SHE SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN OUT OF MONEY. Those who had wealth should have cared for her. This is not welfare, but true benevolence to someone who was in need. It was more important to take care of the widow than to show off their wealth. All of the people whom Jesus is speaking to think they are “good people”. They have forgotten to be sure that the widow has not only enough to put in an offering to God, but she should not be down to her last coins in the first place. Most folks want the basics of a good life. Most folks are willing to work for those benefits. But our government has to ensure that the system is at least fair. Isn’t that what we want a fair system where we can make the best of our opportunities? We may not strike it rich, but we want a chance to prosper and rear our families.

How warped has our society become? I have a friend who worked for an NFL football team. Last Monday he got laid off as a “cost cutting move”. Meanwhile the team negotiated a 40 million dollar deal with an offensive lineman. Yep, they needed his meager salary and

took the chance that such a move might ruin his family. Ironically, the team sought him out to hire him because of his skill. He just happened to be the last hired in his department, it had nothing to do with his performance at all. That’s just business. I wonder what Jesus would say about that?

Will the world end soon as my friend said? I don’t know, but I do know that our society must wake up and begin to look out for its most precious resources, people and prayer. I hear the words of Maximus from the movie Gladiator… “There was once a dream that was Rome, it shall be realized.” Maybe we can recover the dream that once was America. God help us.

Two Bowls, Two Champions

Football season has come to an end and so I and many of you have an empty place within us until next fall when they tee the ol’ pigskin up again. But before we say adieu, I want to revisit the two championship games from both college and the NFL.

First let’s look at the final college game. It was the University of Florida against Oklahoma University. One of the participants was the Florida was quarterback Tim Tebow. Tim is a young man with a great deal of talent. But that’s not why I am writing about him. Talent in college football is everywhere. In a game like that, talent is shared by all. It’s not a case of who has any, only a case of how much each has. The Sooners had their own star quarterback (and Heisman Trophy winner) Sam Bradford. But Tebow stands out, not because he won the Heisman the year prior, but because of his clear and bold statements about his Christian faith. Tim is even bold enough to sport scripture on the black patches under his eyes that he wears during games. Tebow says this about his faith, “If people don’t believe it, that’s fine. There’s always going to be nay-sayers, people that are going to say it’s fake. But that’s fine, because you can’t control everybody. But I can control what I do, my attitude, how I approach the situation. How I approach the situation is I want to do everything in my power that football gives me to influence as many people as I can for the good, because that’s going to mean so much more when it’s all said and done than just playing football and winning championships.” Before last season began, Florida coach Urban Meyer was asked about his star. Meyer responded not about football, but about how Tebow has inspired the Coach to go with his own family on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. “Tim has done a lot of things that opened my eyes, and that’s one of them,” Meyer said. “To have our children experience that, with three other families, it was a life-changing experience.” What a witness for Christ!

The second player I want to highlight is none other than Kurt Warner, the star quarterback from the upstart Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals were in the Super Bowl for the first time ever. But Warner had been to the big game twice before with the St. Louis Rams. He had won one and lost one. He is a guy who, after spending some time stocking grocery shelves, caught on with the Rams as a back up quarterback in 1999. When the Rams needed him, he stepped in and delivered. But, like so many other players in the NFL, his talent got him recognized, but his faith in God and willingness to speak about his faith has set him apart. Warner said, "If you ever really want to do a story about who I am, God's got to be at the center of it. Every time I hear a piece or read a story that doesn't have that, they're missing the whole lesson of who I am." In Warner’s own words, his faith defines him. No the Cardinals did not win, but that fact is irrelevant, Warner, Tebow, and anyone, including you, who witnesses about God’s love, mercy, and grace is and always will be… CHAMPIONS!

We look into the book of Acts to explain such zealous behavior by these two men. Acts 1:8 reports that Jesus promises, “… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Be bold and brave! May the Holy Spirit’s power descend upon all Christians who read this message so that we too may claim the mantle of champion witnesses.