Welcome to the USA, Land of Comfort
Welcome to America, the land of Comfort. Or, more precisely: welcome to America, the nation that worships Comfort.
Wait- America is a Christian nation, you say, founded by Christians. Well, friend, let’s chat.
The founding fathers’ faith is relevant, but I don’t want to focus on that today. Instead, I want to go back much further. There was a time when God assigned supernatural beings to watch over the earth, upper-level management in the heavens, you might say. Some of them rebelled, refusing to be content with their lot. They tried to usurp the power of YHWH God, even to the point of desiring the worship of mankind. And for reasons too complicated to explore here, that’s exactly what the nations did.
Too often, we think of the false gods of old as inanimate objects people kept in their houses. Sometimes that kind of thing was involved. But ancient humans, though sometimes lost, weren’t so dumb as to continuously pray to log with no result. The truth is, evil beings did answer their prayers sometimes. These entities grasped and grappled for power in any way they could. As nations rose and fell, you can look back and see the work of principalities, gods, and their offspring. The church, both true and apostate, has wrestled with unseen forces throughout its existence.
(This guy landed in our tree just as I finished this post. I couldn’t help but share!)
Enter America: A nation is born. Powers still wrestle for authority in the lives of nations and individuals. Christ has accomplished the victory, but his enemies still grapple and try to delay their inevitable demise. There were Christians, to be sure. But there was also power struggle, seen and unseen.
My children and I are reading This Country of Ours by H E Marshall, Our Island Story (on Britain) by the same, and a Child’s History of the World by V M Hillyer. They are scheduled reads for our school curricula and not necessarily “Christian” choices. You’d have to be blind to miss that the majority of our history is riddled with rebellion and absolute disregard for the sanctity of all human life. Who does that sound like? Certainly not the fruit of the Spirit of God. (I would ask that you read TCOO or similar account before engaging in an argument on this particular point.)
For centuries, North America has been a place where people fought tooth and nail for what they want. But what is it that we want? Well, history shows us that we want our way. We want to be “independent” so that we can do what we please when we please. We want to be comfortable. Some of us are even quite comfortable with hard work and sacrifice. Our idea of comfort appears quite noble. But regardless of what our American Dream looks like, a sure-fire way to wake up the citizens of the US is to threaten their sense of comfort.
For example, wars and crimes against humans rage on across the globe. But the majority (hear me when I recognize there is a minority) remain blissfully unaware and unconcerned about these injustices. But when the situation threatens to effect home soil, social media is riddled with ‘pray for _____’ posts. This leads me to ask, “where were those posts last week when the same people were suffering?” In addition, these posts are made based on the “facts” given to us by the media, both sides of which give inaccurate, or at least incomplete, versions of the story. Our passion, rather than compassion, is ignited when our American dream, our divinity of Comfort, is threatened.
Many US citizens shook their heads or stood in shock when rioting ensued despite mandatory lockdowns to stall a pandemic. Do you not see the paradox? Many of those who gawked at that violence tout the bravery of the founders of this nation who rioted and destroyed property in Boston. Do we not see that this is our legacy? Let no man stand between us and freedom has always been our adage.
But this is different, you say. Please show me how.
If you were brought up in America to worship her goddess Comfort, either riot may be easy to justify. She is depicted above our capital and worshiped in our temples. And if you have lent an ear to the principalities of this land, then this might seem depressing or even angering. You may accuse me of being unpatriotic or ungrateful. You ask if I even care for the brave lives sacrificed for our comfort and independence. Possibly you want me to fight for good on the national and state levels.
Why, when I can fight more effectively for good and truth and souls in my own neighborhood? Why should we continue to be misled and lose more loved ones to a cause outside of God’s Kingdom work? I do not intend to make sacrifices to any god but Yahweh. I will not sacrifice my sons and daughters to Comfort.
Revisiting the fact that this could be upsetting for any of us, it doesn’t have to be. Even when the media threatens us with rumors of World War III, we can have joy and peace. Better yet, we can have absolute freedom. Christian Americans claim to fight for freedom when they are actually fighting for comfort. But whom the Son sets free is free indeed. They may be fighting for independence, ease, and comfort, but their true freedom is already accomplished. We like those things. I appreciate my comfort. But which one of those did God promise us? Not one.
He told us to be dependent on him and on one another.
He told us to pick up our cross.
He told us we would have trouble.
Dependence, burden, and trial- those things are not ominous when you consider the abundance we receive in Christ Jesus. Does a well-nourished branch seek succor outside of its vine? Is it any wonder that the author of Hebrews instructs us to fix our eyes on Jesus, who suffered? Christ’s overcoming evil shows us precisely how to approach this life: as victors ourselves.
There is little to overcome in a life of comfort besides comfort itself.
By all means, fight. Fight oppression. Fight hunger. But also, fight the desire to idolize comfort. Fight the urge to serve ourselves. Fight the deception that Christ said might even overtake believers. Fight against those who are out to destroy God’s race of image-bearers. Please recognize that neither our struggle nor our Kingdom are of this world.
Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
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