Independence or Dependence?

July, 2004

by: Jeff Jones

Which is Desirable: Independence or Dependence?

Born as a “bicentennial child,” I can't help but be aware of our country's 200 year old claim to independence from King George and those wiley red coats. Now it may very well be a good thing to be an independent nation with all our various treedoms, but it is certainly not a good thing to be independent when it comes to our relationship with God the Creator. Let me explain…

When the first humans were created, they were placed in a garden and were given one prohibition: Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil lest you die. With every other tree they would have unlimited and unhindered access. But as the story goes, the woman was deceived by a crafty serpent who told her that if she ate from the fruit of the forbidden tree she would become like God, knowing good and evil.

To an ancient Hebrew, knowing good and evil would on the one hand express a totality (good and evil are two extremes) and on the other express a function (good equals that which is most helpful; evil equals that which is most harmful). Thus, to know good and evil is to know and determine what is best and worst in every sphere of life. To seek this (as the first humans did) is to seek to shape one's life for oneself; to decide for oneself what is best and what is not. Thus, the first. sin was a “declaration of independence,” independence from the Creator. Man wanted to shape his life independent of God's authority and guidance, ruling his own life instead.

We know the consequences this had upon our world; it separated men from God's sustaining power and led to universal death. Now, when we look out the window or turn on the TV or even examine our own hearts and see all kinds of corruption, we are getting a glimpse of what happens to life when men seek to be independent from their Creator. Let this 4th of July remind you of the consequences of “spiritual” independence and your great need to depend solely on God and what he says.