America's Greatest Export

Therefore speak to them and tell them, “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Any man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will be brought to give him an answer in the matter in view of the multitude of his idols, in order to lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel who are estranged from Me through all their idols.’”“What’s yer poison, cowboy?” asks the barkeep in the old western saloon.“Gimme a double,” says the dust-caked, weary man with the unkempt teeth, “…bourbon…and put a rush on it!” He growls on the big screen and somehow the moviegoers are intrigued by it…even attracted to him.It seems just about every American has seen, or minimally understands, this scene as it’s been played out so many times through media. The so-called “poison”, in context, is liquor. Americans, in general, love their drink.So I did a cursory search for some data. Here’s what I found. The top selling American-made liquor is Jack Daniels Whiskey, which is really bourbon. Here’s an excerpt from a CNBC.com article titled Strong US Dollar No Match For Whiskey Fever.Boom times in the American whiskey market and record exports helped spirits sales to grow in 2014, as the industry continues to take market share from beer, the Distilled Spirits Council said in a new report.

Spirits sales to suppliers rose 4 percent to $23.1 billion, and total U.S. volume growth increased 2.2 percent to 210 million cases last year, it said.

The trade group said total exports are projected to have risen 3.7 percent last year to $1.56 billion despite a jump in the dollar's value, which makes buying U.S. goods more expensive in other countries. 

Whiskeys are expected to make up roughly 70 percent of total U.S. spirit exports.Wow. Now that’s a lot of “poison” being exported. Impressive. But I ask, is this our only export? I mean, how does it compare across our export portfolio? Well, without any research, most will agree that our greatest export is our culture, or at least some facet of it. We imported our “western culture” from the European countries by virtue of being colonized by them. Having since matured it even further, it has now become our greatest export. Think about it.Is that a good thing? Biblically speaking, is the American culture a good thing to propagate abroad, or is it just another poison, possibly our worst at that?Now, before you go off accusing me of anti-Americanism, please remember that I love my country, as much as I’m allowed to by God. In other words, I love her like I love a dysfunctional teenager who regularly poisons themselves and others with ungodliness. This blog isn’t about me trying to throw stones at America (no country is perfect)…it’s about perspective. I’m an American, after all. I’m just not deceived.What I can say is it’s entirely possible that we export more poison than good. Oh sure, we do a lot of so-called “good” in this world, but the good often seems far outpaced by the evil. I’m not even convinced the things we deem “good” are actually good at all (Matthew 6:23). And I’m not talking about bourbon here, I’m talking big-picture.America is known for its culture. It uses media as the syringe that injects it into the world. Movies, television, radio, and now the Internet are dominated by American culture…and the world fiercely consumes it all. In a word, we are talking about idolatry.Idolatry is America’s greatest export, to net it out. There’s hardly a more popular subject in the Bible than idolatry. The caution is profound.We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

Little children, guard yourselves from idols.The Apostle John was the “apostle of love”. At the very end of his magnificent epistle, he closed with a warning against idolatry. Why do you think that was? I believe it’s because he knew what any godly shepherd knows.Idolatry isn’t just everywhere present, all around us; it infects us. One might even say that its presence is intrinsic to us. And that’s a true statement because we all have a flesh that loves its idols.Export businesses are only successful if what they are selling abroad is perceived as better than what is obtainable locally. Well, America is really good at making and distributing idols! Whether it’s movie stars, music bands, runway models, sports heroes, moguls, politicians, or all the wannabes, we manufacture and distribute as much or more idolatry than any other country in the history of the world. In fact, our “product” is so well made, the world is crying for it, “more, more, more!” It’s grotesque.On the flip side, we have the Great Commission, which implies a totally different kind of “export” - the Gospel:And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”I wonder how well our Gospel exports are doing, compared to our more famous ones. I wonder why a country that likes to tout itself as “Christian” does so very little, relatively speaking. I wonder how other countries, maybe even a few third world ones, compare to America on this front.History has shown that the most “successful” countries/empires in the world have all been tremendous exporters of idolatry. Rome comes to mind first, of course. Just look at what Paul had to say back when that empire was still in power:For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.How about a smaller microcosm of worldliness? Let’s take the first century city of Corinth, for example, another wealthy area well documented, both Biblically and historically. They were steeped in idolatry…in many ways, consumed by it. Paul had to write multiple times to combat this disease (1, 2 Corinthians)!Wealth breeds idolatry. Who needs God if they already have a god (I speak as a man)? Isn’t that why Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:25)? Idols are difficult to destroy!Idolatry is a heart issue, plain and simple. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34). America sure does treasure its culture…just sayin’…and it’s extremely successful at exporting it to other countries. Idolatry is at the very heart of it all. And before I sign off, let’s not just blame Hollywood here. Remember, a pointing finger gesture has three fingers pointed back at its owner! If each of us were to consider ourselves our own private enterprise, what would our own export portfolio look like???

Love in Christ,

Ed Collins