Living in America is a blessing. We have freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom upon freedom upon freedom. We are told from a young age we can be whatever and whoever we want to be. We are then told we need to be and have everything – all the time. It’s a lot of pressure. It’s also a lie.
If you buy into all this, you will have conflicts. You can’t have everything you want all the time. It wouldn’t be healthy. You can’t be everything to everybody all the time. You would be “spent” in a couple of weeks. And as a Christian, we are taught to Deny ourselves, not indulge ourselves. Living as a Christian in America sometimes makes you feel like you have failed the American dream.
To have the dream job, you must sometimes be away from your family, sometimes totally. Which priority wins? You feel like you are failing yourself if you don’t pursue “ all you can be,” but you fail your family if you’re never there. No matter what you choose, you feel like you are failing one.
We are told from the time we are young to “be happy.” But what if “being happy” falls outside the will of God? What if we have to choose between personal happiness and following Christ?
I have wrestled with it and I know many others have, too. It is difficult to choose wisely when the world is screaming for us to do otherwise. No matter what we choose, we feel like we are failing. Let us pray for God to give us the strength to choose wisely and tune out the voices that say differently.
Sweet Mimosa 