Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of... stuff.

A couple of days ago it was the 4th of July, otherwise known as Independence Day, the day that America adopted the Declaration of Independence and we became our own country and all that jazz.
If you walked into pretty much any church last Sunday morning, you might have heard these words being sung by the congregation:

"God Bless America,land that I love,
stand beside her, and guide her,
through the night with the light from above.
From the mountains, to the praries,
to the oceans, white with foam,
God Bless America, my home sweet home."

I grew up like most good American kids assuming I was part of some sort of chosen nation. Problems in other countries seemed like they were there simply because they were kind of barbaric and certainly less "Christian" than us.
It had never occurred to me until much more recently how far-fetched such assumptions were. The Great Seal of the United States features the Latin phrase "Annuit coeptis," meaning "He (God) approves our undertakings." I wonder how such a bold claim appears to a God who sent his Son with a message of a kingdom "Not of this world" (John 18). From every description that Jesus gives of this other-wordly kingdom, one finds little to match up with the kingdom that has been established in the United States.
After the church service I went out to purchase some things I "needed," and was quickly distracted by huge Independence Day sales. Reflecting on this later, at home, I realized that retailers had probably nailed the most appropriate way to celebrate the existence of a nation driven by consumption. I had considered myself to be a pretty unmaterialistic person until maybe the last year, when I realized I was holding myself up to a pretty poor standard. I set out this year with a goal to make the utmost effort re-define my "needs" and to stay aware of what my purchases were supporting. I tried to limit myself to making only purchases that were second-hand or used ethical standards in production, but I have failed miserably many times, because I am as guilty as any of that disease that runs rampant in this country--greed.
I honestly feel that if there is one characteristic that is predominant in this country, it is greed. It drives just about everything in our country. People pursue wealth as the ultimate happiness; sex, fame, power, and everything else fall into place after this. I don't know how we can stamp our currency with a claim that "God approves our undertakings," when the things we undertake so often clearly go against His very words. He informs the greedy that "No one can serve two masters...you cannot serve both God and money" (Matthew 6:24). To those who are arrogant of our country's power and would abuse that power, he tells us that "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). Just to think that God opposes the proud, one would have to assume that he opposes many of the nation's actions, and many of its leaders.
I know this all sounds awfully cynical, but I do believe that there is genuine good will in our country. I do believe there is selflessness and humility. I simply think that these are characteristics that do not define our country. Rather, these are characteristics of the kingdom of God, the only kingdom to which I pledge all of my life and loyalty, the kingdom which encompasses everything that is true and noble and good,ruled by a King who came teaching how to humble oneself by "becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross." He has earned his place as ruler in my life. As my pastor pointed out during our Sunday morning service, America isn't actually my home sweet home.
On the subject of greed, I've felt a tug to start keeping myself more accountable on my ideals. It's nearly impossible to make ethical purchases 100 percent of the time in a country where it's so much easier to exploit workers in poorer countries, but to help me strive harder towards making the best choices I can, I think I'll start featuring "Fair Trade Fridays" every couple of weeks to spotlight a good I've recently purchased. Stay tuned...