Self reliance

Surrounding us every day is a danger that threatens to overshadow our lives.  It invades our time and causes sin and disruption and a great deal of sadness to overtake us.  It doesn't discriminate on age, race, gender, social position or faith.  This sickness is so prevalent, so rampant, that you might think that everyone is fighting it and defending themselves from it, but you'd be wrong.  We're encouraging it!  We're building it up and teaching our children to embrace it and holding it up like an idol.  This thing is called self reliance.  It is, and always has been, a hindrance disguised as a help.  It prevents Christians from leaning on Christ; it gives society false hope and individuals false pride. 

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
   and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
   and he will make your paths straight.

^{Proverbs 3:5-6}

When we lean on our own understanding we put our trust in ourselves, and by choosing to trust ourselves, we chose, by default, to NOT trust God.  Ultimate trust can come from only one source at a time, and when you choose what to trust you turn away from trusting something else.   And yet few Christians would claim that they don't trust God!  Well, of COURSE we trust Him!  I mean, He orchestrated creation, for pete's sake, surely he can manage my work schedule for next week.  But we rarely stop there, do we?  We may say we put our trust in God, but then we take that back the next minute by arranging our days, hours and minutes so closely we barely give Christ room to navigate our busy lives.

⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   neither are your ways my ways,”
            declares the LORD.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

Isaiah 55:7-9



There are several excellent analogies that illustrate the idea of 'higher thoughts'.  My favourite, though, is that of the tapestry.  If you were to shrink to the level of the threads woven in a tapestry, it would appear to be a mess.  Different threads, different colours and textures, going every which way.  Knots over here where a thread ends, a patch over there, tangles and rough edges.  But if you could step back, waaaaaay back, you would see a picture.  And not just a picture, but a grand work of art.  So intricate, so messy on the ground level, and yet, He wove it together.  There was a plan, after all.  When we choose, intentionally or not, to make our own decisions, we say 'No' to God's plan, and 'Yes' to our understanding.  We do not admit that our thread is not the whole picture.

⁴ Blessed is the one
   who trusts in the LORD,
who does not look to the proud,
   to those who turn aside to false gods.

Psalm 40:4

Notice how this verse reads.  It does not say "Blessed is the one...who does not turn aside to false Gods."  Instead it says "Blessed is the one...who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false Gods."  Who are the proud?  The ones who turn aside to false Gods.  The one who trusts in the Lord is set in opposition to those who rely on their false Gods.  We should not be looking to rely on those who put their trust in something other than God, or else we risk being disappointed.  The false Gods can be anything man-made: money, prestige, education, good looks, etc.  If someone relies on something other than God to get them through life, they have set that thing up as an idol in their life.  If that is you, then you need to tear down that reliance on yourself and your man made structure, and if you are the one looking for guidance from someone who does not rest fully in God, then you, also, need to lean not on that person's faulty understanding.

¹³ In your unfailing love you will lead
   the people you have redeemed.

Exodus 15:13

Unlike false hope, God's promise is one of unfailing love.  It isn't a concept that we can ever fully understand, but we need to try, at least, to embrace it.  I remember hearing someone once speak about Judas Iscariot with the words "If he had repented, even of the sin of turning Christ over, he could have recieved forgiveness."  I had so much trouble believing that sentence because my rational brain kept getting in the way; surely Judas, the traitor, I mean...not Judas, Lord, surely not.  And I felt relief that it wasn't a question I needed to answer because he hadn't, after all, confessed his sin, and so it wasn't an issue.  But it is an issue, for each of us, because we, as much as Judas, nailed Him to that cross.  And He has forgiven us.  He does not lead us with His power, for He wasn't a raging army general or a majestic Caesar.  He does not lead us with the character qualities we value in our leaders today, wit and social graces.  He didn't lead with money.  He certainly didn't lead with popularity.  He led with unfailing love.