Is It Hard to be a Christian in America?
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“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?’” (Matthew 16:24-26).
The pursuit of happiness! It’s written into the Declaration of Independence. “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among those are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” What a wonderful statement with so much truth about who we are.
But does the “pursuit of happiness” conflict with the life we are called to as disciples of Christ? A life of self-sacrifice and community with others? What is “happiness” anyway and when will we ever achieve it?
As Christians, what ought to be our pursuit? Happiness? Or Serving the Lord and serving others? Well, we all know the answer to that one. And yet, here in America, is that how we actually live our lives? In other words – where in your life does your faith fit? Is it one piece of the bigger picture? Or is it everything and all else pales in comparison?
Competing Attentions
Some 25 or 30 years ago, I had the honor to meet the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Uganda, Henry Orombi. Henry said something to us that has stuck with me all these years. Henry said, “It is so difficult to be a Christian in America.” My first thought was, “that’s crazy. It’s easy to be a Christian here with all the freedoms we have.” Then, after a pause, Henry added, “In America, you have everything you could possibly need. You don’t need God. In Uganda, we need God for our next meal.”
As I’ve grown older, I have come to realize it’s more than the simple fact that we don’t need God to survive. There is so much going on in our lives, competing for our attention, that God seems to fall by the wayside.
There is a story of an American man who married an Iranian woman. Together they worked as missionaries in Iran – suffering, as one can imagine, from intense persecution. But they also experienced an explosion of faith, witnessing miracles and huge numbers of people coming to Christ. The extreme danger and intensity in their underground church kept their faith on fire and very real.
Eventually the danger led them to come back to America. But, after a few months, the wife begged to go back. “Please take me back to Iran; there is a Satanic lullaby over the church in America and I can feel myself falling asleep.” A subtle, persistent and growing lullaby that was putting the church to sleep, making them lukewarm. She would rather have faced the persecution and danger in Iran than to face a lullaby that would put her to sleep.
Are we in danger of becoming the church in Laodicea written about in the book of Revelation? “I know your deeds, that you are neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16). You make me want to throw up. “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17).
Is that now us, here in America? Have we become so comfortable, so blinded, with our affluence and financial security that we have become distracted? Lukewarm to the calling of Christ Jesus? My wife’s dad used to say, “Eyes that don’t see, hearts that don’t feel.” We are now blinded to the suffering around us – across the globe and even across the street.
It was to Laodicea – a church of Christians – that Jesus said words that are often used as if they are an invitation to non-believers. Instead, they are an invitation to a group that said they believed:
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Revelation 3:20).
Obstacles in the Path
“Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions’” (Luke 12:15).
America is the wealthiest nation on the planet. Even those who might be considered “lower income” would rate very high relative to worldly standards. And yes, the cost of living is far greater here than in many other parts of the world. Nonetheless, the fact remains that by global standards, we are among the very rich.
But wealth is not a sign of God’s favor. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells us of the “rich man and Lazarus.” The parable came after we are told “the Pharisees loved money…and were sneering at Jesus” (Luke 16:14). The rich man in the parable was suffering in torment – not because he was rich, but because he ignored Lazarus who was right at his gate every day, while he “dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day” (Luke 16:19-31). The man was rich, but used his wealth only to make his own life better.
We face incredible pressure about how we look, what we drive, what we wear, where we live, what we eat. You name it, there are forces trying to tell you how to feel or what to do about it. Our lives are overwhelmed by temptations and distractions. Consumerism surrounds and even overwhelms us.
Can there be any doubt that we are incredibly spoiled? Can there be any doubt that the potential idols that we allow to creep into our lives are everywhere around us? From sex to our work to our homes to the gym and fitness to what we eat to our hobbies. You can pretty much name it, can’t you?
The Resulting Impact
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).
Unfortunately, we are letting the noise of the world drown out the voice of God. And it’s putting us to sleep in a very bad way. We are letting the stresses and worries of life impede our faith. We work harder. We try harder. We do everything to pursue our happiness, but too often our happiness is financial or based on the “abundance of our possessions.”
We can allow an admirable thing to become an obsession. We want to excel at work, but then are never home. We work harder and harder to get more. Then, our social and political climate are perilous to our personal lives and careers. We often seem to be demonized simply by proclaiming our faith. And often – too often – that silences many Christians lest they be viewed in a negative light or be ostracized.
We have the good news of the gospel to share, but don’t want to “impose” on anyone. Don’t want to be known for that. Atheist Penn Gillette (of Penn & Teller fame) once asked, if you truly believe I’m going to hell, why would you not tell me about Jesus?
Mega-churches contribute in unintended ways. Their intentions are awesome, but true discipleship is a challenge. Many go to church on Sunday but otherwise remain pretty much uninvolved. Even larger churches often struggle to find volunteers to help with their various ministries. And in a mega-church – those who don’t want to get too deeply involved can remain hidden and unknown – show up on Sunday, sing a few worship songs, listen to the pastor and then bolt. We hear this great preaching, but do we put the words into practice? We say we are believers, but have our lives changed?
Worship becomes nothing more than a song. We have “just enough Jesus.” Just enough to feel safe, but not enough to be changed. Just enough to get to heaven, but not enough to change our lives. Just enough to inspire us to “worship” on Sunday, but not enough to transform us Monday through Saturday. Just enough to bless our plans and desires, but not enough to follow His.
Driven by the “busyness of life,” American Christians are reading the Bible less and less, and Ligonier reports that we are now more biblically illiterate than ever before.
Is this the way Jesus intended for us to live? We are building our lives on sand.
“But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matthew 7:26-27).
Overcoming with Him
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24).
Jonathan Edwards once asked, “How can you expect to dwell with God forever, if you so neglect and forsake him here?” He also said, “A true and faithful Christian does not make holy living an accidental thing. It is his great concern. As the business of the soldier is to fight, so the business of the Christian is to be like Christ.”
If we’re honest, we all realize that truly following Jesus has never been easy. Salvation is free, but there is a price to pay in following Jesus. We are to live like this life is brief, because it is. We are to live with eternity in mind, not the temporary things of this earth. We are to live for others, not for ourselves.
Suppose you knew your life would be taken from you at the end of this day. What questions would you ask yourself? Would you be in despair, asking yourself, “What did I do with my life?” “Why did I waste my life being consumed by meaningless things?” “Why was I so consumed with my own happiness and my own luxury?” “Why was I so consumed with what other people thought of me?” “Why didn’t I just do what Christ called me to do?”
But it is not too late. You can still choose the way of Jesus. Your life can still be built around Him.
7 Ways to Refocus Your Life with Christ
1. Desire
Okay, I get it. Simply reading this isn’t going to inspire you to change. You simply can’t find the desire. Oh you wish you did. You wish you were more devoted to Jesus, but you just can’t get there. I remember reading AW Tozer who encouraged us to pray to want to want to. Pray that God would fill your heart with the desire to want to know Jesus better.
2. Clear the Idols
You may not even know what those idols are. Simple – ask God to clear away anything that sits on the throne of your life where He rightly belongs. Then hold on.
3. Hear the Word
Paul teaches us that “faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the Word about Christ” (Romans 10:17). That tells me it is up to us to read and study our Bibles. If you don’t already, start with one chapter of the gospels each day. Don’t rush through it and don't just read it. Think about it. Absorb it.
4. Pray
Want to know Jesus better? Tell Him. Sit down, by yourself. It doesn’t have to be formal or any special words. Pray the Lord’s prayer from your heart. Open up and tell Him your problems. He already knows them. Then let the Holy Spirit do His work.
5. Love Your Neighbor
Make an intentional decision to be kind and loving to others. Pray that God would change how you think, how you feel, how you act, and how you speak. Then do something for someone.
6. Use Your Time, Talents, and Treasure
One word: sacrifice. Find a way. Give something up. Buy Starbuck’s every day? Stop and give the money to the church or some organization. Play golf every week? Stop and volunteer somewhere.
7. Teach Your Children
Make the impact generational. But don’t just tell them – show them.
It all sounds so simple, right? Simple, but not easy. As you dive into all of this, you realize that living out true faith is demonstrated through how we live our lives. There will be times you feel like a failure; we all do sometimes. But the simple fact that you feel that way should tell you something. You’re getting there. You are overcoming the world around us.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/photovs
Greg doesn’t pretend to be a pastor, a theologian, or a Bible expert, but offers the perspective of an everyday guy on the same journey as everyone else – in pursuit of truth.
Greg can be reached by email or on Facebook @ Greg Grandchamp - Author.