Lesson 39
Do we put too much emphasis on self-reliance and independence, and are we afraid of admitting that we need other people in our lives? Understandably, it depends on the person. But does our society press the idea of independence? The answer is yes.
First, I will cover two reasons that society puts too much emphasis on self-reliance and independence. They are:
- That the Bible does not seem to encourage it.
- That it is not good for relationships.
The first reason that society puts too much emphasis on self-reliance and independence is that the Bible does not seem to encourage it.
Some may say that Genesis 2:24 encourages independence. This, however, is a faulty interpretation of the verse. Let’s take a look,
“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
~Genesis 2:24 (KJV)
As you can see, the first part of the verse may seem to imply self independence, but the later part says that he should cleave to his wife.
The second reason that society puts too much emphasis on self-reliance and independence is that it is not good for relationships. Huffpost says,
“…self-reliance is a double-edged sword. While it has many virtues, it can also rob us of true intimacy and the type of partnerships we desire.”
If you told someone that you needed nobody in your life to care for you, provide for you, protect you, or help you, do you think that would cause them to feel appreciated? At the very least it might make them feel unneeded.
The truth is, we do need people in our lives (the right kind of people of course!). We need someone to help us up when we fall down, to make us smile when we are sad; to uplift us when there seems to be no hope, etc. And we need to be those people to others.
“We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth.”
~Bernard Shaw
The second part of this essay is to answer whether we are afraid of admitting that we need other people in our lives. As already stated, it depends on the person. I can’t write an essay on everyone in the world; so I will just have to stick with the general populace.
The answer is that for a lot of people, they don’t want to admit that they need someone in their lives. For Atheists, that might be God. For someone hurt in a previous relationship, that might be friends.
Why is this? Well, for a variety of reasons. The Atheist doesn’t believe in God. If they admitted that they needed God, then that might tear all of their main beliefs out by the roots. For the person hurt in a previous relationship, they don’t want to be hurt again. For others, they might be afraid of change. If they have never needed anyone before, why would they now? Still others, admitting that they need someone in their life might make them seem weak and, therefore, more vulnerable to being hurt.
In conclusion, society puts too much emphasis on self-reliance and independence because the Bible does not seem to encourage it and it is not good for relationships. We don’t like to admit that we need people in our lives because we may not like change and we may think that it can make us seem weak and more vulnerable to hurt.
Just remember this quote by Kim John Payne,
“Independence isn’t doing your own thing; it’s doing the right thing on your own.”
~Kim John Payne
~SonofYHWH
Credits:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-self-reliance-can-destroy-a-relationship_b_6071906
Photo Credits:
Land Of The Living 
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