The American dream

I heard somebody over the weekend talking about the American dream, and his desire that we would "get past it."

I really had to stop and think about it for a minute. I mean, the American dream is the American ideal. It is supposedly what all Americans are chasing after. You work hard at a profession you somewhat enjoy, try to make a good life for your family. You keep your lawn nicely mowed (well, I missed out on that one), live in a nice house, and take nice vacations. You drive a car that is reliable and hopefully doesn't cost you too much in gas, or if it does at least you can tow really heavy stuff, like a fifth wheel to take your nice vacations in.

I know that I buy into this stuff, I want the nice house and vacations, I want to make a good life for my family. But somehow there is always this tension that exists for me, trying to keep it all in the proper priority. Rich Mullins said, "the stuff of earth competes for the allegiance I owe only to the giver of all good things." It really makes me think, what am I living for?

There has to be more to life than nice cars and jobs and houses. There just has to. If that is all that life is, then "let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." I know that there is more, but somehow in the midst of my gadgets and toys I forget that there is more to life than how many songs I can fit on my MP3 player.

There is more to America than the American dream, I know that there is. It's just that some days we need a reminder that there is more to this life.