There are days that I feel like the American dream has emasculated the American church. The idea that we must have "more" to have done right, to have been successful, flies into direct conflict with the teachings of the Bible. "My kids deserve a better lifestyle than I was raised with", can take a man or woman and put them into direct conflict with God because they might pursue an end opposite of God's desire for them. The Bible tells us, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things" Col 3:1-2. The end for one who makes their lives about the 'American dream" seems to be paralleled in John's writings to one of the seven churches of the Revelation. John wrote, “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the r...