In the grand scheme of things, are we thinking clearly, or sabotaging ourselves?

The lifestyles of American’s are different from those of other countries. We enjoy freedoms that are not available anywhere else. But when the price of freedom is high are we willing to pay the price?

Our ancestors fought for their freedom with blood, sweat and tears—literally. They weren’t fighting for their luxuries. They were fighting for the American dream.

But there is a big difference between the American dream of our forefathers and the dream of today.

Our history attests to those through the years who have given their lives so that others could be free. Our ancestors could barely imagine a nation where they could worship God or not worship God without the fear of persecution.

For them, the freedom they earned was enough. They had opportunities to live their lives and raise their families without the government bursting into their homes and forcing them to give up their children to slavery, take their belongings to pay for taxes, or arrest them for worshiping Jesus.

I’m not implying we should retrogress to those days. There can be a tendency to say that life was so simple back then it would be nice to live that way. But life was also filled with disease that could not be controlled or treated, hunger that was often was part of daily living, and very short life spans.

Today, we live in the world of technology. That changes everything. The world may now be our oyster, giving us a worldwide reach, but in the face of a world presence it’s important to keep our focus on what’s important, not just to us—but to God.

One danger in living lives of luxury and ease is the perception that we shouldn’t be exposed to dangers, and if we are it’s someone’s fault.

For example, when a crazed guy goes into a school and murders children after murdering his mother, it’s preventable my passing gun control. When an F5 tornado horribly reduces an elementary school to rubble, killing innocent children, it’s because someone didn’t build a shelter in the school.

Tragedy happens. I know that firsthand. I would prefer to not have experienced tragedy in my life—ever.

But God is sovereign over all, and we are a people living in a fallen world where we are to help each other instead of finding someone to pin the blame on every time horrible circumstances invade our lives.

When life is too easy, perhaps we might consider what we should do to help those around us—those who are suffering, not just in third world nations, but in America as well.