American Dream

This song has been playing over and over in my head, so I wanted to share the video along with the lyrics.  Casting Crowns is one of my favorite bands.  Today was the first time I  watched this video and I thought a lot of people could relate to the message.  We live in an "always on" society.  Constantly plugged in, plugging away.  Is that really what God wants us to be doing?  Is that really how He wants us to be using our time, our gifts.

Obviously, work is required of us.  From Genesis and throughout the Bible, the Word speaks of our toil.  The Scripture verse coming to mind is Ecclesiastes 4:8: "There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. 'For whom am I toiling,' he asked, 'and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?' This too is meaningless-- a miserable business!"

If you've never read the book of Ecclesiastes, I would encourage you to do so.  It is quite humorous.  The main theme is Biblical vanity, which means that apart from God, eternity, and heaven everything we do may seem empty and worthless.  It is only through God that we will find the answer and fulfillment our souls long for.



Lyrics:
All work no play may have made Jack a dull boy
But all work no God has left Jack with a lost soul
But he's moving on full steam
He's chasing the American dream
And he's gonna give his family finer things
“Not this time son I've no time to waste
Maybe tomorrow we'll have time to play”
And then he slips into his new BMW
And drives farther and farther and farther away
Cause he works all day and tries to sleep at night
He says things will get better;
Better in time
[Chorus]
So he works and he builds with his own two hands
And he pours all he has in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are comin' crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands
Well his American Dream is beginning to seem
More and more like a nightmare
With every passing day
"Daddy, can you come to my game?"
"Oh Baby, please don't work late."
Another wasted weekend
And they are slipping away
'Cause he works all day and lies awake at night
He tells them things are getting better
Just take a little more time
[Chorus]
So he works and he builds with his own two hands
And he pours all he has in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are comin' crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands
He used to say, "Whoever dies with the most toys wins"
But if he loses his soul, what has he gained in the end
I'll take a shack on the rock
Over a castle in the sand
Now he works all day and cries alone at night
It's not getting any better
Looks like he's running out of time
[Chorus]
'Cause he worked and he built with his own two hands
And he poured all he had in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are coming crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands
All they really wanted was you
All they really wanted was you
All they really wanted was you