Christianity and the American Dream

Is Christianity compatible with the American Dream?  Conservative Christians everywhere struggle (or should struggle) with this question.  The problem with the American Dream for Christianity—a problem which I don’t believe is crippling—is not the values it promotes, but rather the mindset it encourages.

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that true Christians can’t be wealthy.  Too often modern Christians look at the world around them and, seeing rampant idolatry of a certain kind, declare that thing itself evil.  The Bible says “no one can serve two masters…you cannot serve God and money.”  It does not say, “it is a sin to have money.”  This distinction is critical to a proper understanding of the issue.  It is a sin to put money before God, not to have money.  Indeed, many of the major men of the faith in the Bible enjoyed immense wealth.  American money has supported an incalculable number of humanitarian and outreach projects.  Without America’s money, they would not have been possible.  Many of the donations undoubtedly came from wealthy Americans who understood the proper role of money in their lives.

The American Dream also encourages many wholesome values, such as hard work and perseverance.  God desires that we fulfill our potential by making the full use of our God-given talents.  The American Dream can spur people on to achieve this potential.  It also acknowledges failure and prizes forgiveness.  All American Dream stories involve some sort of failure and second chance.

The problem, of course, is that the American Dream exalts the individual’s role in his/her success.  Success becomes one side of an equation.  If we work hard, the thinking goes, we deserve success.  In Christianity, we don’t deserve anything.  Anything that is, except death.  The American Dream also implies that money equals happiness, a fact that has been denied not only by Christianity but also by social science.  These issues, however, can be avoided.  One must simply understand the proper place of money in his/her heart.

The American Dream has not only helped America become the largest economy in the world, it has also instilled many Americans with many beneficial values.  As long as Christians are aware of the pitfalls—namely the temptation to take credit for one’s success—the American Dream can be compatible with Christianity.