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Pastor Jay's Blog

Should a Christian Pursue His Life Dreams?

 

Just asking this question is almost blasphemous in our culture.  Today’s culture says that dreams are what empower you, animate you, and are the reason to get out of bed in the morning.  Not having dreams for your life is considered the only real problem. Since the church is notorious at absorbing current culture, but with a 5-10 year delay, it therefore says the same thing about dreams but with a religious spin.  You will hear the church saying things like, “pursue your dreams with God’s help” or “do big things for him.”  

What we have here is a two-tiered issue. Let’s work through both issues. 

The first level is the most problematic because there is a fundamental error at the heart of this declaration.  It can probably best be understood as a problem of first-world tunnel vision. A statement such as “pursue your dreams” is assuming that you are not running for your life or searching for your next meal.  The “pursue your dreams” mantra is often a version of prosperity preaching. There are countless Christians around the world, not to mention throughout time, who have never conceived of the possibility of pursuing big dreams.  All they had was the trade their father passed to them and a few meager belongings. When you are struggling to survive, you dream about normalcy, not grandeur. But it goes beyond first-world perspective and also assumes unfettered liberty.  For untold numbers of believers, becoming a Christian was the end of their dreams. Religious liberty is not as common as we would like to think. In fact, for many, following Christ has meant the death of having a normal family, steady work and security.   When persecution stripes you of the normal, you don’t dream of the exceptional. Let me throw in one more clincher. Many Christians throughout time have been slaves. Can you imagine telling a slave “pursue your dreams?” If you hesitate, then you need to rethink your advice.  If you are going to preach something as true, it had better be true for Christians of all time and all places and all situations. “Pursue your dreams” is more often than not a first-world, persecution-free, prosperity-gospel oriented creation that perverts faithful Christian living.  

The second-tier issue is one of wisdom.  I am not saying that pursuing dreams is necessarily sinful.  Since it is not necessarily sinful, we need to think about how the Scripture addresses opportunity.  For most who read this blog, we are living in a first-world situation where we are not slaves, we are not scrapping to survive, and we are not being persecuted into hiding.  The title of this article was written with a “should” not a “can.” To a large degree, many of those reading this blog can pursue all manner of things. It is even conceivable that people in the poorest of places can take exceptional measures to pursue some dream.  In fact, the “pursue your dreams” mantra rides on the stories of people doing that very thing.  The preachers of this mantra point to such people and assert that those who work hard enough and long enough will achieve their dreams, and those who do it in exceptional ways will get there quicker and with more reward.  

So what does God call us to do with the opportunities of first-world living?  Should we use them for pursuing dreams? There are a few things to consider.  

First, remember that we are called to contentment.  1 Timothy 6:8 says, “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.”   Isn’t it amazing how we can have so much and still be looking for more? If your dreams are full of financial and societal advancement, you need to beware of the love of money and self-exaltation.   But even if dreams are not tied to money and position, but something more like purpose and influence, we need to check ourselves and make sure contentment marks our soul. Does this apply to the purpose and influence of gospel ministry?  Shouldn’t we want to see more people saved and more ministry being done? Aren’t these dreams we should pursue? Yes and No. Yes, love for neighbor means we are always seeking for the word of God to go far and wide. But No, we can’t buck against God’s timing and providence.  We move as he moves and work as he works. The true work is on God. Our work is dependent and contingent. We can pray big and then rest in the small. If God does something big then we look to him for strength. If God does something small, then we look to him for contentment.  As Jesus said in Luke 11:20, “Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

Second, we need to remember that wisdom is needed to evaluate all we do.  One of the regular aspects of the wise life as found in God’s wisdom literature is the diligent labor of your business.  You need to take care of the daily tasks of life, and beware of fanciful pursuits. Among the many verses in the Proverbs about diligent labor at your work, we have a double calling of the aforementioned danger.  Seeing it twice in the same book is significant. Slap yourself in face a couple times and pay attention.  

Proverbs 12:11  

11 He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who pursues worthless things lacks sense. 

Proverbs 28:19 

19 He who tills his land will have plenty of food, But he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty. 

It is a real possibility that our dreams could be foolish.  We might have dreams that do not fit with how God made us. If you have no arms then you should let go your dream to ride bulls.  The Bible calls us to sober assessment of ourselves (Romans 12:3). Honest evaluations from others can help in this. Also, we might have dreams that are covers for sinful desires.  Many a preacher has wanted to preach God’s word to large crowds and big churches, but under the surface longed for the praise and respect of men. All of us should beware of our deceitful hearts.  We are prone to go in directions that don’t pass the wisdom test.  

Third, we need to consider God’s providential work in our lives.  God really is wisely orchestrating our lives, and our prayers and activity are the normal means by which he accomplishes his plans.  We do not have to fret about what we achieve or not achieve. That is what unbelievers do. We would expect to see unbelievers going to exceptional lengths to assert and attain their dreams.  But Christians have a father who is all-powerful. He loves us and knows what is best for us. Whatever dreams we might have, we test against his word, submit them to his will, and then humbly and joyfully watch what God does.

I think the best way to wrap all of this up is to consider one last section of Scripture.   1 Corinthians 7 is about marriage, but Paul takes a detour when considering the challenges that come when you marry someone.  Sometimes marriage brings massive difficulties. Paul says in verse 17 that God puts us in situations that he has “assigned to each one.”  He then looks at slavery. Slavery could be what God assigns you. Slavery means you don’t get your dreams. But Paul says “do not worry about it.”(v.21)  Really? That flies in the face of modern culture’s supreme teaching of pursuing your dreams. But Paul also says “if you are able to become free, rather do that.”  So if there is a real possibility, pursue it. But if not, don’t worry about it. I think that is the best word about pursuing dreams. If you live in a first-world situation, or you have resources or abilities, very well.  In such cases it is not wrong to pursue a biblically wise dream. But if it becomes clear that the dream is sinful, unwise, or so outlandish that it is not prudent, then don’t worry about it. Press on in your day to day work.  You can trust that if God wants you to do something unexpected or huge or otherwise far outside your present situation, he can make it happen if he so desires. He is able to make a shepherd boy into a king, a Pharisee into a Jesus-preacher, and a fisherman into a church leader.   Let’s faithfully “remain in that condition in which [you are] called” (v.20) and from there “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” (Matthew 6:33)