Perspective

Video: Why we need to trade in the American Dream

Have you pursued the American Dream and found, after achieving some measure of it, that it wasn’t a goal worth chasing? Would you be willing to trade it to serve a world that desperately needs Christ?

In this thought-provoking video, our friends at RightNow Media challenge us to rethink our role in the world:

Every day we get bombarded with the message to pursue the things of this world: make money, get stuff, be comfortable, live well. It’s the prevailing message of our day.

Our generation has a hijacked version of the American Dream. But, as Christians, we know deep down that this distorted view of life isn’t real life. We read what the Bible teaches, and we see how Jesus lived. Every day we have a choice to pursue the American Dream or trade it in.

What if this generation was willing to trade in the pursuit of the “American Dream” for a world that desperately needs Christ – to be traders?

A trader is a new kind of missionary, not defined by geography. Where you live doesn’t make you a missionary. The mission you’re on makes you a missionary. Being a trader is a movement that requires us to live out our faith, not just talk about it. As traders, we must choose daily, to sacrifice, to be intentional with our time, money, and skills.

We can be like the Good Samaritan in the parable. When we’re on the road of life and see someone in need, we choose to help. We follow Jesus’ instructions to go and do likewise.

Every day we have a choice to pursue the American Dream or trade it in.

A trader must hate injustice and find specific ways to bring the hope found in Jesus to desperate situations. It’s easy to identify what you hate?  What makes your heart break and your fists clench?

Traders see work as worship, everything you do in life, including your job, can be an opportunity to worship the God who created us, because God is glorified when we use the passions and skills he gives us with excellence.

We must act swiftly, because the time is right now.

The result of all this would be a generation of traders, who are making choices with their time, money, and passions, who are kingdom-focused, and not self-focused, so that our short time here can have an eternal impact.


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