"But when you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord Your God, failing to observe His commands, His laws and His decrees..." (Deuteronomy 8:10 NIV)
Yesterday was Independence Day; the day the whole of America erupts with food and fireworks in remembrance of our historic disassociation from England. Two hundred and forty-seven years ago we declared we didn’t need their tea or taxes. We’ve been proving it ever since.
For whatever reason, Americans are obsessed with independence. We abhor interdependence. We prefer higher fences, dual-climate control, private internet browsers and monogramed belongings. Being independent is a badge of honor in this country, but at what cost?
God is not keen on the independence we value so dearly. Quite the opposite, in fact. He celebrates those that openly admit their dependency. He is moved with compassion when we confess: “I can’t do this on my own.” He steps in as soon as we wave our white flag, the very moment in which we bow stiff neck and admit need.
The truth is, we are not independent from our Creator. We are woefully weak and reliant on His good, gracious nature. It is to our benefit when we can recall this and give Him the glory due. Refusal comes at an excruciating cost: another word for independence is rebellion.
We aren’t independent of others, either. Our life interconnects with the lives of others, we are knotted and woven together despite our defiance. Paul Simon was sorely mistaken: no man is an island. We were created to interact and assist one another; to believe anything less is ignorance. We can declare our independence from God and others, but remains a shout of folly.
“We were formed to be dependent on the one who made us, and we were recreated in Christ Jesus to be dependent on His grace.”
(Paul David Tripp)
"Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me." (Psalm 54:4 NIV)
Lord, please forgive us for our quest for independence. Today we declare our dependency on You. You are our Creator, our Sustainer, our Redeemer and our Restorer. We are hopeless apart from You. We bow our heads and bring You praise. Please reteach us how to live in interdependence with You and others. Amen.
I agree with everything you state here about our need to depend on God and avoid the idolotry of independence. Yet, I hesitate to use our “Independence Day” from England as a jumping off point for this principle. I think independence is good or evil depending on the force one is fighting for independence from. America becoming free from a tyrannical ruler by placing their trust in God as a nation is worth celebrating! I doubt you are actually attacking the holiday in this post, but I wholly celebrate the parallel of this day as a moment of victory from sin and oppression. Obviously, our culture has turned the fight for independence from tyranny to trust in God into trust in ourselves, but it wasn’t always so. George Washington was not fighting for freedom with humanism (like France), he fully relied on God to set our nation free from opression with faith. Okay, that’s my two cents. Love reading your blog! It is very thought provoking. 🙂
I hesitated with the title as well. I’m fairly patriotic and certainly appreciate the reasons for which our country parted ways with England. George Washington’s faith is obvious in historic documents. I wonder what he would think of our country now? My concern is that we have taken the quest for independence too far, it has become our national identity. Without reliance on God we find ourselves in a precarious state.
I always appreciate your thoughtful feedback, Hannah! Thank you for your loyal readership!