Islands

In talking to several people about growing and maturing, the term "independent" has come up a lot. It's natural for people to seek independence from their parents as they shift from childhood to adulthood. You have to learn to take care of things yourself, because your parents won't always be there to do things for you. But lately, I've wondered about the direction we've taken in overusing independence as a concept for life.

Western culture has really taken on the idea of independence. Think for yourself, take care of yourself, and whatever you do, never admit to needing other people. It's like we've gripped the idea of no longer depending on our parents and run with it, even morphed it to be something that it's not, to the point where anything less is seen as weak and needy. It's unsurprising, as a basically atheistic culture, but what shocks me is when I see it among Christians.

The reason it bothers me so much is because it's not only overrated, but it's also not Biblical. I don't claim to be particularly Bible-savvy; I am still learning. But I can say with some certainty that nowhere in the Bible does it advise a follower of Christ to be independent. In fact, the exact opposite is true. I recall growing up, hearing phrases like iron sharpens iron. More recently, the subject of submission has gotten my attention, about how we're supposed to submit to one another as a church body, out of reverence to God. There are also proverbs written about seeking counsel and friendship. A personal favorite of mine, from Ecclesiastes, addresses the merits of companionship in general. And in fact, from the very beginning of the human race, God Himself said that people need one another.

So why is it so important to God that we don't try to be as independent as we can be? Obviously only He fully understands. But I have an idea about it, that it might have something to do with our ego. When we show ourselves to be independent, we develop an image of that, the natural byproduct of which is certain to be pride. But what, really, do we have to be proud of? Everything we are and have, we owe to God's provision. If we're glorifying ourselves for our independence, we aren't acknowledging the One to whom we owe literally everything.

I think that God made us to be dependent on one another, in part, to remind us of how vulnerable we actually are, and how much we need Him. That's why we function together as a body. When we're not a part of that, there are needs that aren't being met, even if we refuse to admit it.