Looking at a definition in the dictionary, self-reliance is reliance on one’s own power and resources rather than those of others. Another way of putting it plainly is independence. So, what does any of this have to do with strength? Having independence means that you find yourself to be enough. Which in some cases, this can be a good thing?. You know that you have the resources to do what needs to be done. You also don’t have to constantly ask for handouts. You are okay with doing things on your own and you honestly might thrive better flying solo than allowing yourself to rely on other people. This could be because you simply enjoy it or you have had experiences where you have been hurt by people and just decided to let yourself do it alone.
Many people would even associate self-reliance with strength which can be useful. The more independent you are, the stronger you seem right? If you can hold yourself up by your own bootstraps and do things on your own, then you are stronger for it. However, being strong and self-reliant can also mean that you can’t allow yourself to have a moment of weakness. You are constantly on 100% all the time. You don’t give yourself a moment to be imperfect because imperfection might mean that you would need help from others, therefore, making you dependent upon other people.
Now, let’s place God into this situation. Where does he fit in?? Are we so self-reliant that we forget about him and all that he has done? Does Philippians 4:13 no longer apply? Are we relying on ourselves to get us through life and not allowing ourselves to rely on God? These are all questions that I want to unpack this week. Looking at how self-reliance is defined I want to uncover if it is really the best way to go through life. If we are completely self-reliant and we choose to forget how important God is in our lives, it becomes a dangerous place to place our strength. Putting strength in ourselves can only last for so long. Especially when we are stuck in the wilderness and nothing we do seems to be working. Tomorrow, we will see why self-reliance is harmful.
Down in the comments, let me know what you think about self-reliance?? Is it a good thing or not? How does this play in when God is such a large part of our lives??
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