Independence and Dependence

I was playing pick-up-sticks with my grands the other day. My granddaughter is eight and my grandson is five. Her fine motor skills are more developed than his, as is her strategy. She is steadier picking up her sticks and more deliberate in her choices. This frustrated my grandson to anger and tears as she would say, “It moved!” I talked with my granddaughter about the better part of valor, reminding her that she would be able play longer if her brother was winning more. So she became more gracious letting him recognize when he moved a stick. She lost a few times, but she had the fun and joy of the play, and the game.

I got to thinking about President Trump’s book, The Art of the Deal, and his negotiations with so many countries. The premise if everyone wins, everyone wins began to take shape in my mind. We’ve come so far from our kindergarten days where we learned about sharing and listening. (All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum) These truisms aren’t always recognized or observed in work situations, politics, or general personal relationships. 

Bob Dylan wrote about the concept in his song, “You Gotta Serve Somebody:” 

“You may be an ambassador to England or France

You may like to gamble, you might like to dance

You may be the heavyweight champion of the world

You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

CHORUS: But you’re going to have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You’re going to have to serve somebody

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you’re going to have to serve somebody.”

Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Paul wrote to the Ephesians about God’s concept: Ephesians 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” 

We think of July 4 as Independence Day, and truly, we were freed from the heavy handed rule of the crown, but to get there we were dependent on God and upon each other as we fought the revolutionary war.

We are all much more dependent than we think we are. We rely on our employers to earn money to sustain our families. We are dependent upon our military in war. We are dependent on our law enforcement when people take advantage of us. We are dependent on our parents for a time. We are dependent on our spouses and our dependence grows over time. We should choose rather gratitude and thankfulness toward those on whom we rely rather than criticism and degradation.