American Idols

Ever wonder what our grandparent's and great grandparent's thought process was when they decided to come to America? They heard there were opportunities here. That if they worked hard they could succeed. That they could raise a family with freedom. That they could worship as they pleased. All these things were what they valued.

As a culture our values have changed today. As a country we have told God to take a back seat. When other things replace God those things become idols.

As folks experience the American dream they forget their original values. In business folks value projects, purchases, and problem solving. In education folks value their PHDs. As success comes people value their possessions, their plenty, and their pile of petty cash. All these things are good and even necessary. It's loving them more than God who gave them to us that makes them idols.

With success comes popularity and prominence. Folks especially in government like power. Self confidence and accumulation easily turns into pride. Pleasures and entertainment take a front seat. Again, being successful is a gift as long as we realize where it came from and acknowledge the Giver. 

We now have the other side of the coin and our country has allowed another idol. Our government has made choosing to work and make a living an option. Welfare for legal and illegal folks now pays better than entry level jobs. Some have become passive and not present for their families. With so much free time perversion and promiscuity set in.

We were cutting beans up north when our neighbors, Jerome, Gene, and Eddie, had a bearing go out of their machine and start their field on fire. That's a scary situation and we all helped get it stopped.

Jan and I help sponsor a class of an inner city Christian School in Des Moines. The kid's guardians, mostly grandparents, are responsible for a small portion of tuition and the rest is raised by donations.

We took a little time off Friday to go have chapel and lunch with them. They are full of energy and love attention.

What we have has been given to us by our Creator. So we have an obligation to others and to give them a helping hand. In Proverbs 3 is says, "Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it's in your power to help them".

Last Sunday our church care group got together for dinner and Ranger rides. Church families as well as regular families are a gift and we need to remember that the people we love also belong to God.

Speaking of church, sometimes even pulpits and pews can become an idol if we put more emphasis on our traditions than who we are worshipping. Adam and Eve experienced a drastic difference in their relationship to Christ when they had to leave the garden. Church leaders either had to break out of their traditions or reject Christ when He came to earth. During the Reformation the church was in a rut and focused on self and God used a few folks to transform it back to where God wanted it. Today we have two groups of churches in America. Those who have experienced spiritual renewal and those who need to. 

My last story is close to my heart. We picked the Ponderosa farm Friday in Union Mills for Bill, a retired school superintendent. I moved to this farm when I was in the 4th grade and went to school in Barns City.

This is where I started to think about what I wanted out of life when and if I grew up. Of course I wanted to farm. By 7th grade I had made 4 goals for my life. I achieved 3 of those 4 goals by the time I was 21. The last goal God kept from me for 37 years. He knew farming could easily become my idol. God showed me through a series of detours that He wanted me to first of all be faithful.

Why does God give us what He does? Proverbs 3: 9-10 says, "Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then He will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine". Honoring and acknowledging the Giver and sharing out of gratitude is what the American dream is all about.