I’ll be honest. I’m not a fan of Independence Day. I’m trying to sort through whether that opinion is fueled by the despicable taste in in my mouth when I see red, white, and blue waving as a symbol of national allegiance and empire worship or simply by my struggle to intellectually and philosophically value independence. Freedom is good and necessary but cannot exist through the supposed provision of an earthly empire. Freedom is in the person of Jesus Christ and is quite different from that with which it is quite often confused, “rights.”
My reading on July 3rd proved to be rather timely for the upcoming day celebrated by most citizens of the United States. From Free of Charge by Miroslav Volf:
“Here is roughly how sin works in relation to God the giver. All things are from God and through God, and yet we want to be independent of God, standing on our own two feet, claiming God’s gifts as our own achievement. The young Karl Marx, barely twenty-six years old, put this sentiment as boldly as possible. In a text that remained unpublished during his lifetime, ‘Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts,’ he gave an expression to the heart of his rebellion against God:
‘A being only counts itself as independent when it stands on its own feet and it stands on its own feet as long as it owes its existence to itself. A man who lives by grace of another considers himself a dependent being. But I live completely by grace of another when I owe him not only the maintenance of my life but when he has also created my life, when he is the source of my life. And my life has necessarily such a ground outside itself if it is not my own creation.’
Marx held firmly to human independence. It almost seemed to him a value that lies at the bottom of all values. Because the reality of God as creator is incompatible with human independence, he denied the existence of God.
Most of us, especially the believers among us, won’t deny God’s existence in order to secure our independence. Instead, we thing that we can have it both ways. We believe that we can stand on our own two feet, independent of God, and still affirm that God is the creator of everything. But that doesn’t make sense. We can be both dependent on God and free; dependence on God is the source of our being, and therefore, our freedom. But we can’t be created by God and independent; God sustains creatures in being and in freedom. When we assert our independence, when we ascribe to ourselves what comes from God, we wrong God – at least as much as I would wrong an author whose ideas I would peddle as my own. That’s our main sin against God the giver. If, like Raleigh Hays, we see ourselves as more or less honest, hardworking citizens, we may believe that we deserve what we have, and even a bit more because an evil world is cheating us of our proper reward. We might not feel particularly grateful for what we have because we think that, rather than receiving it, we earned it. And we want to dispose of our hard-earned goods the way we please; they become not so much gifts given to us to enjoy and pass on, but rather our exclusive possessions.
Assertion of independence, pride of achievement, sense of entitlement, and absolute right to dispose with our goods – these are the ways in which we live in contradiction to who we actually are in relation to God. And in these ways, we, decent citizens, live as inveterate sinners. To live in sync with who we truly are means to recognize that we are dependent on God for our very breath and are graced with many good things; it means to be grateful to the giver and attentive to the purpose for which the gifts are given.” //
// Miroslav Volf. Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace. pp. 35-6.
“…it means to be grateful to the giver and attentive to the purpose for which the gifts are given.”
Interdependence.
Imagine, that before we had grocery stores, free trade, fair trade, import, export, etc. – we were actually dependent on the sun and the rain for our food. in those days, we actually had to interact with one another, daily – and we had to work together, interdependently, just to sustain each other with food and water and fire.
Ever seen Seven Samurai?
All that to say – our “progress”, that has alleviated our dependence on our basic God-given elements, like soil, water, sun, and hard work with our hands – has completely distorted our relationship to, and understanding of, God and other theological matters.
I think we need to make the jump from post-modern, back to pre-modern – to even begin to reconcile our distorted view of “independence” and “entitlement”, which is just as prevalent in the poor neighborhoods, as it is in the rich neighborhoods.
I think Wendell Berry is possibly our greatest resource, in which to understand how to do this – or at least gain insight into how we got from point A to point B.
Old MLK Jr. speeches sustained me throughout my weekend. Not the one’s he got good publicity for.
For some weird reason, I just had Neil Diamond’s “Coming to America” playing in my head.. hmm…
As soon as my mother get’s home and I can have access to her camera I’ll be posting some pictures I felt compelled to take yesterday at Church. Let’s just say I did not enjoy my church service Sunday.
I acknowledge the 4th of July as a celebratioin of political independence from Great Britian. Our separation from their governmental rule and having a country with greater freedoms especially religion, expression, etc. Obviousiy, my first allegiance is to Christ. I also have allegiance to my family, community, etc. to some extent and with some limitations.
Perhaps one needs to have a definition of allegiance. The USA is not perfect and often acts with selfish intent. However, our government also helps some with compassion and humanity in view of trajedy, national disaster, etc.
I chose to be proactive instead of negative. Did Jesus spend His time changing the government? Did He spend His time bad mouthing the government? Did He spend His time focusing on LOVE and bring people to unity? Where do governments get their authority anyway?
I have chosen to respect our nation for its good and encourage changes in a proactive fashion. Thus, I hope those with whom I disagree will respect my viewpoint and listen more attentively.
Empire worship or celebration? After the cheers have subsided, many of us “patriots” go to prayer to thank God for his blessings. We also ask Him to bless others around the world. It is tough being judged with the masses. I am thankful He see each of us as individuals.
Did Jesus celebrate freedom through war?
Should we listen more attentively to the powerless, to the poor, to the bottom, to the hunted?
I think that if we did, we might not celebrate the powerful, the rich, the top, the hunter.
Until the lion learns to speak
The tales of hunting will be weak
Runtaa
Hadii kale waxaan lahaa
Hahee
Hey Joe if you read this I’d like to know where you got some of those MLK jr. speeches.
Should we show grace to those who might be so-called ‘empire worshipers’? What does that look like?
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also, I haven’t thought a whole lot (if any) about “independence day.” I might later. I might not. But if I do, I might respond in more detail.
I think I like Miroslav
Straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel…that’s where I see this post. I must agree with PK who rightfully acknowledges “independance” as in July 4th to be free from the chains of Great Britain (no longer dependant on Great Britain…and more specifically, independant of the “mother church of England”). To that degree, America is independant.
That said, there are certainly those who mistakenly associate that freedom with the freedom we have in Christ. We can never be non-dependant of Christ and still be a follower of Jesus. That simple. But trying to equate independance from a country and spiritual independance, in my humble opinion, is a huge waste of time and finger power on the keyboard. Next subject please.
I’m with PK…I celebrate the fact that I can live independant of England and the “mother church.” To equate independance day as anything more than a celebration of “non-dependance” from another country is ridiculous at best. America is a nation where we are freely able to worship as we desire and where we desire. It realy sounds like you’re trying to make a big deal about nothing.
That said, I agree that we are completely dependant upon God…and that dependance actually makes us independant of many things…the power of sin, the sting of sin (death), the absorbtion of self.
you agree that who is completely dependent on God? America?
the follower of Christ
so, as a follower of Christ, we have no free will?