This little thing came through my facebook feed and I thought, wouldn’t we all? Wouldn’t it be fabulous to be totally self-made,to have no dependance on others, to never risk being vulnerable?
Or perhaps not, perhaps being vulnerable and influenced by others is the very definition of being human. Regardless, I totally like the idea of being strong, independant, impervious to others, never having to credit anyone else, in control of all outcomes, always. Existing by nothing but the fruit of my own labors.
But it isn’t true at all. That is not the nature of reality. In fact, the more I stared at this thing, the more I was struck by how downright selfish and self absorbed it is. I suspect this girl had parents, so right there we have revealed the lie behind never having to say, “you wouldn’t have this if it wasn’t for me.” Then I assume there were teachers, doctors, mentors, friends along the way. People who built the roads and bridges she drives on, people who built the car she drives in the first place? An employer? No one is an island.
Grace, shall we talk about grace? Clearly none of us would have salvation, redemption were it not for Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. So, “you wouldn’t have this if it wasn’t for me,” totally applies there, too.
And marriage well, how would you even go about trying to love someone like this? There are treasures there, fruits within marriage that clearly say, “you wouldn’t have this if it wasn’t for me.” That doesn’t even begin to touch on the material, but rather the spiritual, the personal, memories. A whole life built together.
Just saying, don’t be this girl. She’s really sad. I’m getting depressed just thinking about her. Don’t be the guy equivilent of her either. Don’t be like me either, the girl who gets into heated arguments and great moral debates with…facebook memes. What can I say, it’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.
Debbie L said:
I think someone else famous or infamous said that or something like that. Didn’t he?
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bwcarey said:
focus on success, step one, ignore the needs of those around you, fine post, thanks
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osarobohenry said:
Great one my friend 👍
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craftysurf said:
I really enjoy reading your insights!
I agree, these type of “memes” seem to miss the point and create a false sense of empowerment. If you go around thinking you are the only one responsible for your success, you’ll REALLY beat yourself up when you fail, which is inevitable.
Great post 👍
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jackfussellacrosstheland said:
So much help all my life. Even the roads I drive on and the car. So much .
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theancients said:
It’s all about introducing godlessness at every level.
Christ Jesus says – I am the branch, you are the vine…without Me, you can do nothing.
The rebellious heart says – No Lord, not so. I can breathe without you, I wake up myself every morning. I provide the sunshine, soil, and rain for the crops to grow to provide the food that I eat etc. [It’s sad to sound so ridiculous and not even know it].
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theancients said:
Sorry for huge typo:
Christ Jesus: I AM the VINE…. you are the branches!
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oneta hayes said:
I Cor. 12 analogy of the church as a body is so descriptive of what is needed for success and wholeness. Not one of us is designed to be independent of others. I thank you, IB, and your commenters for what you add to my life today. You’re a blessing to me. (For instance, I would like one of you to tell me what word to use in place of “commenters,” which my spell check does not like! 😀 Commentators seems too elite for my casual form.)
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Secret Keeper said:
I’m going to play the “devil’s advocate” here for a second. While I agree very much with the concept of your post and the fact that we do need others in our life, maybe this person is feeling unseen and needs validation that s/he has done something good on their own. Saying something like this meme above to someone can steal someone’s joy and pride away for the hard work they have done themselves as well.
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insanitybytes22 said:
I guess I would say that while pride may be stolen away, in exchange one would receive a sense of being loved, nurtured, and protected.
While there’s nothing wrong with feeling good about one’s accomplishments,the real path to happiness and joy revolves around gratitude. So if this gal were to fail or to break her leg or something, were will her sense of joy and peace come from?
That’s one of the hazards of life, at some point our own hard work will fail us and we will find ourselves needing others,needing something greater than our own efforts.
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Secret Keeper said:
Totally agree. I just wonder if it was posted in a “in the moment” feeling. We never really know what someone might be going through or feeling. Regardless, we cannot go through life on our own totally independent of others. It would be lonely I think. I also know God created us to live in community and wants us to serve others which would naturally propel others forward in positive ways.
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insanitybytes22 said:
There are people who come by and try to steal our joy, aren’t there? There we are,trying to celebrate a moment of achievement and they go, you didn’t achieve anything so great. Arrggg..
Fortunately this meme is a generic one,not related to any individual woman’s accomplishment. The girl pictured is just photopshopped in there. Were she an actual person, I would not be so quick to crush her joy.
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atimetoshare.me said:
Better you than me, IB. It takes someone with spunk to deal with these issues and you’ve got spunk😀
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