Is American Culture Endangering Your Spiritual Life?

"Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; filled with food, he became heavy and sleek. He abandoned the God who made him and rejected the Rock his Savior." Deuteronomy 32:15
Allow me to begin by introducing to you a young woman from Brentwood, Tennessee by the name of Katie. Katie, according to American standards, had everything a teen could want; she had rich parents, lived in a nice house, drove a cute car, and got dates. But it was not what God wanted. When she was seventeen years old, Katie felt called to go to Uganda. Knowing that she was only thinking short-term, her dad dropped her off at a safe mission institution, where his daughter could fulfill her call in Uganda and return home in one piece. When she did return, however, Katie horrified him with the news that God had called her to Uganda to live perhaps permanently! Thus, this courageous young woman set out for the impoverished country of Uganda with God as her compass, striding into whatever adventure there awaited her.

And what an adventure it has been! Still in her early twenties and not yet married, she is raising 12 or 13 (I forgot which it was) children she adopted as her own and feeding about 300 other little ones twice daily. In many different ways, God has already used her young life to bring Himself to the people of Uganda. She gets frustrated sometimes, yes, but keeps in close touch with God, Who, through signs of his approval, has shown her that she is exactly where He would have her be.

When asked if she ever feels threatened in a place such as Uganda, Katie answers blatantly that she believes America is the more dangerous place, with the souls of sinners masquerading behind our never-ending cycle of strive to obtain, obtain, become unsatisfied, and strive to obtain again. She thinks it suffocating to live in a country which so hypocritically seems to gain happiness through material items instead of God.

Many Christian Americans would protest to the aforementioned remarks, arguing that it is equally difficult to follow God no matter where one is, and perhaps also that God is the number-one Thing on their to-do list, so they are finding the most happiness and satisfaction from Him that they can. But if we truly examine ourselves, do we find this to be true?

When I was in Guatemala, many "trials" worthy of a modern American freak-out occurred: it rained all the time, I was almost never warm, the roads were slushy and made my feet dirty, one of our hotels didn't have water daily for almost the full day (which meant no showers), my outfits got washed twice over three weeks' time, full vanloads of us nearly died several times driving on the mountain passes (which really taught us to pray), had to wash our hands in the same water the church-dwelling families brushed their teeth, washed their clothes, and did the dishes in (hand-sanitizer serving as our only soap), and I could go on.

And yet I consider that trip the best experience of my life. From Ester's hearth-side meals to K'anjob'al lessons, the little girls in the pew behind me singing out to their heavenly Father to the joyous singing we enjoyed within our own circle. We never argued, and, in a short span of time, we became a family to make up for the ones we had left behind. We were given a tri-cultural experience (Jamaicans joined up with our team in Guatemala City). And, surprisingly, though I had left nearly all my earthly treasures at home, I found myself spiritually blossoming as I relied on God for the necessities I lacked.

You see, as the verse mentioned at the top of this post says, we become spiritually obese if we allow ourselves to chase after the things of this world. No matter what we might think, theybecome our gods, not God Himself. It is an interesting "coincidence" that I grew closer to God than I have ever been while still deprived of modern American household posessions, is it not? Or perhaps Katie is right, and America's self-absorbed habits are spiritually stagnating the growth of believers.

Where is God?

I can see them now, trapped beneath the rubble. Conscious for days but unable to move. All around them, they hear the noises of others being pulled from similar predicaments. They try to scream, but the sound is silenced by the wreckage. In breathless patience, they hope that they won't have to be under there for much longer. They think of their families and wonder whether they survived. Some cry out to God. Others doubt His presence even more.

In view of the amount of attention Haiti has received these past few weeks due to the devastating earthquake that ravaged Port-au-Prince on January 12th, perhaps it is a little cliche of me to speak of it now. But for the present, it provides a great example of God's great hands quietly working in the background of such razement.

Yes, it's a bit hard to believe that God was involved in something as terrible as the Haitian disaster, but we must remember that the whole world is His, and He has a plan for everyone in it. I think that whether we recognize it or not, most American Christians have settled for belief in a fair-weather God. When everything is going great for us, halelujah! God must care! But as soon as our sheltered lives demand us to step out upon the raging waves, we rush to the helm, knock God out of our way, and quickly steer ourselves as far from the storm as possible, not realizing that we are missing some of the greatest chances to let God shine through us.

When people look at situations such as Haiti, it is not uncommon for them to ask themselves where God was. As Christians, we must understand enough about God's dealings with mankind to recognize His will playing out in the earth. God most likely was saddened for those thousands that lost their lives and loved ones. But He never tooks His eyes off the big picture He has envisioned for the world's redemption. He knew that, in the end, we would be better off because of it. Already, many people are hearing the Gospel as Christian survivors worship and pray. One congregation even placed benches outside of the church building for those affected by the earthquake. It is said that the glorious noise was wonderful, the wounded singing to the Savior along with those who remained relatively unscathed. In a land of death and darkness, a torch of life and light still burned strongly. In the blur of confusion, God is making Himself clear to the world.

Also, with the sudden inflow of personnel from developed countries, attention is at last being given to the financial state of Haiti, which is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. God, while drawing the world to Himself, might also be drawing us out of our comfortable slumber and awakening us to the needs of others.

We are children of God. Since the Bible commands us that we are supposed to strive to be like Him, we are obligated to carry out His qualities in every area of our life. This does not exclude looking at the big picture, or, in our case, looking for the big picture. Only then will we be able to answer non-Christians (and ourselves!) with truth when confronted with the question "Where is God?"