A few years ago I came across a book called The Epic of America, written James Truslow Adams back in the 1930s. While the American Dream dates back well before Adams, he and his book are credited with coining the phrase that is so popular today.
Despite coining it, Adams was a voice of caution, emphasizing his belief that we’d lost our way in our interpretation of the American Dream.
Here’s a 2026 example of why I think we should still be worried about Adams’ cautionary words.
Ram Trucks recently launched a new campaign titled “In Loud We Trust” featuring UFC CEO Dana White. The ad highlights the roaring sound of American engines and declares that "quiet won't get you anywhere!"
When I first saw this commercial, it made me feel like I could take on the world. The spectacle of it was excellent and stirred everything in my heart that wants to believe I can be in charge. I felt strong, empowered, and motivated to crush it.
Jeremiah 17:9 reminds me why I shouldn’t be surprised my heart responded in that way, for it says that “the heart is deceitful above all things.”
You see, we love to believe that the American Dream is the primary goal of our work. We love the challenge to become the hero of our story. We want to believe that “quiet won’t get us anywhere”, because we want to be powerful and we want to be in charge.
What does your version of the American Dream look like today?
Do you want that next promotion so you can buy a bigger house?
Do you want to own your own company so you can be your own boss?
Do you want to win the deal so that you can prove something to your peers?
I’m not saying that the promotion, owning your own company, or winning the deal are bad. They aren’t. But when done for the wrong reasons, they are.
Instead, I’d like to offer an alternative dream, I’ll call it the “Wholehearted Dream”.
The Wholehearted Dream
The American Dream says: work hard, and you'll get what you want.
The Wholehearted Dream says: work hard, let God do his job, and he will give you what you actually need.
Not a bigger house. A new heart.
Not more control. A peace that transcends circumstance.
Not the applause of people. The presence of God.
Our job was never to build a life we could be proud of.
Our job is to work, and let the work be the place where He meets and transforms us.
God’s job is the heart. It always was.
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
Elijah Version of the American Dream
If you’d like to dig into a bible story related to the American Dream, I found my way into 1 Kings 19 this week and found Elijah’s journey very relatable. I also discovered an awesome sermon from Charles Spurgeon on this passage, titled "The Still Small Voice". (link to the full sermon here)
Here’s my short summary of his sermon:
Spurgeon opens with Elijah at the peak of his public ministry, with fire falling from heaven on Mount Carmel, the prophets of Baal slain, the nation shouting "Jehovah, he is the God." It was the loudest, most decisive spiritual victory imaginable and Elijah expected it to change everything and produce incredible gospel fruit.
Spurgeon notes that Elijah had built his whole prophetic identity around this kind of dramatic, thunderous intervention, he'd "always spoken out of the whirlwind," and it's implied he'd come to rely on that mode as the way God wins people.
Then it collapses. Jezebel threatens Elijah, and fresh off his greatest triumph, he runs away and asks God to let him die. The man who could face down a nation single-handedly is undone not by Jezebel’s threat itself, but by the discovery that his loud, spectacular victory produced nothing lasting.
In a stark contrast to our Ram Commercial, Elijah’s loud actions produced nothing we could trust. Spurgeon reads this as a deliberate correction: Elijah had to be humbled out of dependence on his own display of power before he could be used again by the Lord.
"It is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord."
If the story interests you at all, I’d encourage you to check out that full version of Spurgeon’s sermon. Keep in mind it was from 1882, so style was a bit different, but it was amazing.
For me, I was convicted by just how quickly Elijah went from hero to zero. Definitely have been there and done that. What was it for you?
As always, please respond to this email if you’d like to chat and discuss anything from this or other posts! I can’t wait to hear what “drift” stirred up for you. And if you have any friends who you think might derive value from exploring Wholehearted Work - I’d love for you to share it with them.
👉️ Sign up Here 👈️
With Heart,
Alex
