Dear Friends,

Self-sufficient. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary has two definitions. The first is “able to maintain oneself or itself without outside aid; capable of providing for one's own needs, as in a self–sufficient farm.” That sounds like a pretty good quality to have in order to be an independent person who is not overly reliant on someone else to fulfill his or her needs.

Here’s the second definition: “having an extreme confidence in one's own ability or worth; haughty, overbearing.” Ouch. That’s a perfect example of taking a good thing too far – over demonstrating the good aspect of self-sufficiency and turning it into a negative and destructive mindset.

The modern world prizes self-sufficiency and from an early age we are taught to work hard so that we can achieve our independence, take responsibility for ourselves and not constantly turn to others to sustain us. That is an admirable pursuit, and essential for our development into mature adults who can provide for ourselves and our families. 

Take that pursuit to a deeper level and you may fall into the trap of thinking, “I’ve made it this far on my own, I don’t need anyone or anything else.” Such a life paradigm can easily lead people off track and to the presumption that they are their own Savior, Lord and Judge. For a Christian, that is not only incredibly egotistic, but it seems to me to be the secular worldview held by non-Christians who don’t believe in God!

That, Keller says, is the essence of sin. After much reflection, I have come to appreciate the wisdom in his observation.

How many times have we become overly prideful in our ability to take care of ourselves, and in the process perhaps forgotten (even temporarily) that God is really the reason for our happiness and success? We are humans and we are not perfect… that is exactly the point! It’s not a sin to be proud of our accomplishments; yet, I’d say that it is a sin to take too much credit for our accomplishments and presume we have succeeded singularly as a result of our own actions. That presumption can lead to even more “independent” behavior… and suddenly we find ourselves falling into the “definition #2” category.

As always, by studying God’s word and reflecting on readings prepared by some of the world’s best theologians, we can come back to our true center – back to our true Savior, Our Lord.

Have you experienced a time when you felt you were too self-sufficient? What made you realize that was happening, and how did you renew your realization that God is your true Savior? Share your story and inspire others.

Blessings,

 

Ron