“Mom, are we poor?”  This was the question my ten year old daughter asked me recently.  It was a startling moment -- especially since we recently moved into a 4000 square foot home, visit Walt Disney World at least once a week, and our kids have never really wanted for anything.  So where did this question come from?

I knew.  This summer Chad and I read a book that changed our lives and began to explore in depth what the Bible has to say about finances and the purposes God has for the material blessings we have. It’s been one of those times in life when you can feel your worldview turning upside down and you know you’re at a crossroads. 

For us, the two roads meant two very different lifestyles.  Road #1 was the classic “American Dream”.  Chad had recently been promoted to a new job in Orlando.  We bought our dream home.  We had grand plans - vacation home, expensive cars, movie stars, swimming pools (well, you get the point).  But then God stepped in and showed us road #2.  It called for sacrificial living.  It called for us to stop investing ourselves and our resources in stuff that doesn’t fulfill and never really satisfies.  It called us to abandon the lie we are fed and told is the American dream and live with one purpose--to bring the glory of God to all the nations of the world (you know, what the Bible says is actually our purpose here).

These are the two roads before all of us.  I am convinced more than ever that we, as the American church, have been rendered so impotent in our mission here at home and over seas for one of two reasons.  We are either a) completely confused and ignorant of the difference between a Biblical worldview of purpose and possessions and the vision of the American dream that we are bombarded with everyday, or b) we do know the difference but are unwilling to live in obedience to God.  Either way, we have substituted a self-centered pursuit of comfort and prosperity for the real adventure that God has made us for. 

This journey began for us when we read the incredible book Radical: Turning Your Faith From the American Dream, by David Platt.  It was a very difficult book to read, but a message we desperately needed to hear.  (Thank you folks at Westpoint for ruining our grand plans and dreams for life). For over a week, Chad and I read through the book, dug into what the Bible had to say on the subject (for once), and spent hours at night discussing the challenging message presented in this book and the Word. 

We saw that God was calling us to live our lives for Him rather than for ourselves.  So we made some tough decisions.  We would spend our money differently.  We would give our resources and time differently.  We would teach our kids that we make the choice to sacrifice stuff we don’t need to care for others and make God’s name and glory know through the earth.  Nothing is more important.

For my daughter, this life reorientation coincided with her 10th birthday.  When she asked me, “Mom, are we poor?” she had begun to feel the sting, so to speak, of this different lifestyle.  We drastically reduced the number of times we went out to eat.  We told the kids that we were not buying this or that.  However, we realized that it was difficult at first for our kids to understand why we were making the choices we were.  This became an incredible moment to teach our kids about God and what it means to be a Christ follower. 

Turns out our kids (and probably a lot more out there) were confused because the self-focused lives they were observing at home were radical contradiction to the lessons they were learning at church.  It was amazing to watch faith become real for them as we began to live like we really meant the things we said on Sunday. 

After this my sweet daughter understood.  She started talking to me about how she wanted to help the children in Africa.  She was ready to give all her toys.  She wanted these kids to know Jesus.  She received a good amount of money for her birthday from extended family and she told me she wanted to give a big portion of it to “the kids that need it in Africa.”  Road #2 is challenging and requires a daily denial of self, but it’s already been so rewarding.  I’m excited for the journey.   Will you join us on that journey?