Independence Day?
by Andy Perry

Today is the day we Americans respectfully refer to as 'Independence Day.' It is the Fourth of July. Of course, just the mention of the '4th' raises certain images in all of our minds: fireworks, sparklers that burn the hair on your arm as its fire works its way to the end of its long fuse, parades, cook-outs in a park, swimming in a lake, Yankee Doodle Dandy - a whole host of images emerge when we think of this day.

But, when is the last time we really pondered its most common name: 'Independence Day'? Independence for whom and from what? For our rebellious, eighteenth century forefathers, of course - from that nasty King George III of England and all his unjust taxation without representation. Very likely, our American Revolutionary War was a just cause - it brought freedom from an oppressive government to our ancestors. And today we have the Fourth of July to celebrate the Declaration of Independence which began that war which ended in our national freedom.

That was many years ago. The intervening 228 years have witnessed a nation built on the principle of independence. Much good has resulted, but could it also be that the modern concept of independence has drifted far in two centuries, becoming in its worst no more than a blank check for personal liberty at all costs? Independence today for few Americans means the freedom from taxation without representation. Sadly, independence has become the watch-word of the ‘me’ generation. Indeed, many look back to the American Revolution as the inauguration of a type of bold personal 'freedom' after which every depraved soul lusts. How is the word 'freedom' used in public discourse today? It is most often the catch-phrase and legislative and social battlement protecting sinners in their sin. The freedom to "choose." The freedom from religion. The freedom from swift justice. The freedom to be immoral and parade immorality and teach such a freedom to vulnerable children. The freedom to create a society where the government sponsors addictions and promotes the freedom from productive labor. Did our founding fathers have any idea what kind of a monster their seemingly benign baby of basic freedoms would grow to become? Surely they would be aghast at the state of modern America's driving cultural imperative: freedom at all cost.

Independence Day. There is no question that we have arrived at an unprecedented state of 'independence' today in our nation. But the alarming reality which most haven't the foresight to glimpse is that such cavalier freedom slowly weaves a thread of the worship of one's self-destiny and lack of public responsibility into the fabric of society. A person does not need to spend many hours talking to teenagers today to realize how inbred this 'self-indulgence at all costs' and 'who cares about the rest of the world' attitude is. The seemingly innocent infant of our forefathers' freedom has become a monster which is slaying its masters - us. Our own demand for freedom has become like the food at a banquet table which should have been eaten with moderation and discretion but instead has become a Bacchian feast of gluttony - and now we are experiencing the resulting 'heart attack' which could kill us.

True independence always leads to self-deification. In the sight of God this is the most heinous of crimes. The Bible calls us to the exact opposite of our 'independence/freedom-glutted' age. God calls us to total dependence upon Himself. He is our Creator, and we owe Him all things - even life itself (Genesis 1-2, Hebrews 1:1-3). True independence leads to the ultimate place of insecurity for man, for we were designed to always depend in everything upon God - only there is security and peace found. Every fifteen-year old who strikes out on his/her own on a Greyhound bus in flight from mom and dad feels the immediate exhilaration of parental 'chains' falling off. But does a run-away ever find the security and peace they're searching for in their flight? Grasping independence for oneself is tantamount to sawing off the branch of a tree upon which you're sitting. Sure, it gives you freedom from the tree, but it also plunges your body to injury or death. God is like that tree, and He designed us to dependently live in His shade - to receive provision from Him - to be instructed about how to live by Him, for we are the product and He is the Producer. He is in control. In His care is security and peace found. Dependence is the key to life. Independence in the ugly form which modern society parades it is the key only to a door which may feel really good as you walk through it, but as it slams behind you it casts you into the cold and lonely desert called 'self.' Such independence as that surely warrants no celebration. As you hang out your flag today and eat your picnic lunch, make sure your remembrance of our just national independence is grounded in the conviction that only total dependence on God yields true freedom.