Stagnation through Pride

Independence and dependence, two of the hardest-to-navigate straits in the day-to-day walk of humans. On the one side, it takes little thought to realize the pitfalls that dot the entire landscape of the dependent individual and I don't intend to get into them. So what about independence? Especially in western civilization, (even more so here in the US) independence is one of the first building blocks upon which our youth are raised. Go to school, get a job, move from home, start your own family. Necessary tenets for every household. Of course, as in most things, there is merit to be found in such principles, but the soft fall to destruction is hard to spot and difficult to avoid. It is not so much the independence that is the problem, but its terrible offspring, Pride. It is a short stride from standing on your own two feet to thinking that you stand on your own two feet without even making use of the ground underfoot. No matter how hard one tries or how well one succeeds on their own, it is simply a matter of time before the realization comes that all their independence and all their pride does not bring the entire world to them on a silver platter. And once that happens, the time comes for depression, loss of motivation, stagnation. As amazing creations as we are, self-sustaining is not one of our characteristics. We are designed dependent from birth. To our parents, to our circumstances, to our surroundings, but most of all (whether we admit it or not) to our God. All the other things we might depend on have the possibility of failing or hurting us, leading us to desire more independence, but only through depending on God can we ever be free; free from our own fears and failures.