What Does Independence Mean?

Here's another post I wrote some years back. As I read it, I realized that most of what I said then is still relevant today, so I decided to dust it off and re-present it to you along with your Fourth of July apple pie.  I trust that while you’re having that second helping  you would stop to reflect on what independence means to you and to America.


What does Independence truly mean? Does it only mean having the ability to govern ourselves? Free from outside control, as the Oxford dictionary tells us? Or does it mean not depending on anyone? America is known as the land of the free and the home of the brave. But lately we have to ask ourselves who are the free and who are the brave?


Freedom may be limited, but bravery abounds. We have to be brave to walk the streets at nights, brave to send our children to school, brave to mention the name of Jesus in public. When over thirty six million people live in poverty in this, the richest country on earth, where is the independence? When children are the largest growing number of the nation’s poor, and words like outsourcing and downsizing are common everyday terms, where’s the independence?

I hate to spoil your celebrations, but we need to examine ourselves. As more people lose their healthcare, prices of basic commodities continue to rise, and wars rage at home and abroad, we need to depend more on God. The Bible tells us, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3: 5).

Think about that as you dig into that apple pie.

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How Independent Are We?

Photo credit Wikipedia

Whether you live in America or not, you are probably aware that this is Independence Day weekend. Here in America we do everything lavishly. Food, fireworks and fun are the order of the day - or the weekend. I heard some popping last night and I did my shopping yesterday so I won't have to be in the long lines today. If you are heading for the grocery or the malls, head out early and be careful.

Apart from achieving our independence from Great Britain, Americans are by nature an independent people. We pride ourselves on being "captain of our own ship, master of our destiny." We work hard, play hard and do our best to provide for ourselves and our families. This is one of the reasons America is the richest country on earth. We extend aid to poorer countries, and they look to us when they are in difficulty.

We have every reason to be proud. But let's not stick our noses in the air and think we are okay. Everyday we are being reminded that we are not. Terrorism, stock market crashes and global economic instability prove otherwise. We do not have "freedom from control, support etc. of others," as the online dictionary defines it. We are interdependent on others and whether we like it or not, we are dependent on God.

In Romans 9: 16 Paul says, "It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy." And in verse 18, "Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden."

In other words, all that we are and all that we have are not the result of our "independence," or our hard work, but God's will. He has the power to build us up or tear us down. No amount of leadership, wealth or military power can save us if God chooses to unleash His wrath on us. So, as you enjoy your barbecue with friends and family this weekend ask yourself these questions, "Am I truly independent? Am I trusting in my own strength or God's?"

Happy Independence!

Here are some related posts that might be of interest:

Happy Independence Day

Through A Child's Eyes


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What Does Freedom Mean To You

This past week America celebrated its two hundred and thirty seventh birthday as a nation. America, like other countries that have declared themselves independent, prides itself on being a free nation. But what does it really mean to be free? Are we, its citizens, free to do whatever we like? We know the answer to that question, don't we?

Yes, we do enjoy certain freedoms more than some other countries, but these freedoms come with constraints. For example, we enjoy the freedom to assemble, but if this assembly is considered disorderly, we will be stopped. As Christians, we enjoy being free from the law as laid out by Moses in the Old Testament, however, does that mean we are free to sin? This is the question that gets a lot of Christians confused, or gives them excuses to do whatever they like.

Just as we do not have the freedom to break the law as citizens of an earthly kingdom, we do not have the freedom to break the law as citizens of a heavenly kingdom. And in the same way if we break the law of the earthly kingdom we must appear before the judge, the same applies to God's laws. When we appear before the earthly judge, we should have an attorney to speak in our defense, otherwise we may be in big trouble. When we appear before God - the Heavenly Judge - we also need an attorney. His name is Jesus Christ.

The Bible says, "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One" (1 John 2 : 1). Then he goes on to say, "No  one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God" (3 : 9). 

Do you want to be free? Do you want to know that if you do sin, you have someone - Jesus Christ - to speak in your defense because He already paid the price for your sin? Then come to Him; ask Him to take complete control of your life and then you will be truly free. God bless.