People all over the world celebrate freedom. This is the time of year when the skies all across North America light up in celebration of freedom from being ruled by other nations. Being from a Canadian-America marriage, we find it convenient that Canada Day and the US Independence day are close together.
The founding fathers of America put it this way: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness
From when we are children we seek freedom. Freedom from having to clean up our room—or mow the lawn—or whatever. And on it goes throughout our lives.
People die for freedom because they believe being dead is better than being a live slave.
In my home country, being independent is a value of high importance for many people.
Yet no one is truly independent. Well, there may be one or two odd exceptions of people who live completely independent from the rest of society, but even may of the people who want to “live off the land,” so to speak, end up using tools and things made by others. God did not make us to be independent, but interdependent--interdependent on each other.
But God also made us to be dependent. Dependent upon Him.
If we are not dependent upon God, we become slaves to something else. One of those things is money. Jesus put it this way:
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Matthew 6:24 (ESV)
The Apostle Paul mentioned that we have a choice of being a slave to sin or a slave to obedience to God:
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? Romans 6:16 (ESV)
It seems, then, quite appropriate to have a Declaration of Dependence:
God, I can’t make it to heaven without your help. I can’t even make it through a day without sinning without the help of your Spirit. I can’t love others unconditionally unless You give me the ability. I can’t forgive seven times, let alone 7x70 times, unless Your Spirit empowers me. Only because of Your work on my behalf through Jesus Christ do I have any hope of any kind at all. I depend on You.
A declaration of interdependence would be good as well—to remind ourselves that we share our lives and our planet with many others. So I hereby declare my interdependence with:
- my wife
- my family
- my church
- my friends and neighbors
- all the other co-inhabitors of my planet
You did a great job of expressing a lesson I have been learning.
ReplyDeleteOf all the people I know, I am probably one of the most INDEPENDENT! I don’t like to argue, or be put down, or in a competition, or be scolded by anyone. That was always the reason for me to simply say; “you go your way, I will make mine the other direction. The world is big enough for both of us”. I have been seriously convicted of that, and now see the purpose for life being; .. . if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7
Your interdependent partner in the Lords work in us and through us.
Very well said Edd. : ) Happy Independence-Dependence-Interdependence Day to you both!
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