Winston Salem church of Christ

What is the most dangerous aspect of being an American Christian?  Warning!  This might be a trick question!  But I’ll be nice and give you a hint.  The trick is discovered by asking what is unique to being an American; not what is unique to being a Christian.

American Materialism?

We are a rich nation.  Many find it easier to give money than to give time.  Many find it hard to give much money at all because of how much debt they are in.  Some probably even observe the weekly “Passover” when the collection basket is passed because they just bought something new and unnecessary.  Because the “

American
Church” possesses so much wealth, many doctrinal issues have arisen due to the fact that we can afford to do what we want.  Do you think many first century churches argued over how many new projects to begin right after praying for their daily bread?  Would we find it hard to stand up to persecution if we can’t sit down on hard pews?!  There is no doubt that materialism is dangerous…but materialism is not unique to the American experience (1 Timothy 6:9-10).

American Moral Decadence?

Today American Christians say things, dress ways, and entertain themselves in ways that would make their grandparents blush.  Unfortunately the past had its own moral failures such as racism, and man-made regulations like not playing cards especially on Sunday.  Yes, American moral decadence is on the decline…but again, such moral lapses are not uncommon outside the American realm (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

The American Mindset?

Could what is best about
America be the most dangerous aspect of being an American Christian?  Our freedom, democracy and self-determination. 
America is indeed a special and unique place.  I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.   

Democracy, or more accurately, Republicanism, is not how the church is organized.  While there are occasions of the entire church getting together to decide a matter (Acts 6); and while there are elders overseeing local churches (Acts 20:28); the church is ultimately a monarchy.  Monarchs have absolute authority to where it can be treasonous to even question not only their authority but their exercise of said authority.  Jesus is our King.  Are we willing to let Christ rule, set the rules, and us simply follow the rules without argumentation?  Can our American mind even grasp, let alone accept, the real consequences of living in a monarchy?  Read the Declaration of
Independence.  That wonderful document, testifying to self-evident truths, is also a listing of complaints against the king.  Biblically we are to unquestioningly serve the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 1:17).

Balanced together, but not contradicting the concept of majority, is the equally American mind-set of individual rights, and the emphasis of the individual.  Here in
America the individual is more important than the society as a whole.  We have laws protecting individual rights.  In fact, the Bill of Rights was written to protect the individual from the government.  Rarely (but becoming more common) will the Government set aside individual rights in order to serve the greater good of the society as a whole. And yet, I think this wonderful emphasis on individual rights has led to some American Christians becoming selfish and self-ruled.  “You can’t tell me what to do, I know my rights!”  But Christianity is not about individual rights, is it?  It is about serving others, bending our will to theirs, even when not bending our conscience to another (1 Cor.8-9).  We are to serve one another (Galatians 5:13).

Freedom, self-rule, and rugged individualism are precious and essential American values and ideals.  They are what make
America special and unique, so much so that historians speak of our existence and philosophy as “The American Experiment.”  No democracy has lasted as long as
America.  We are the freest nation not only on earth, but probably in history.  These freedoms are gifts I would not want to live without.  But can American freedom be dangerous to pure Christianity?  In
America, freedom means free to do as we please.  That concept has wrongly crept into the Bible’s use of freedom, which doesn’t mean freedom to do as we please.  In the Bible, freedom is freedom from sin, freedom from having to be perfect in order to enter heaven (Romans 6:16-20).

American freedom is also a freedom from being forced to do something against your will, where eventually such a loss of freedom leads often to a loss of will.  In
America, “You can’t make me” is true on many levels…and thankfully so.  Even in our Bill of Rights, we are guaranteed the right of not being forced to house soldiers in our homes against our will.  Freedom to not do can often lead to complacency.  Complacency leads to laziness.  Laziness leads to death spiritually. 

How can we escape such dangers?  Be a Christian first, and an American second.  It is harder than it sounds.  But it is dangerous if not done.