As we celebrate the 4th of July, of course we're going to reflect on all that's good about America. We have a rich Christian heritage and we've fought tyranny around the world for the last century or so. It's great stuff worthy of all the fireworks displays.

But let's not confuse our heritage with what is often advertised as "the American Dream" - that good life in the suburbs with all the toys. Our independent ways can have a spiritual downside, and we're not unpatriotic to take note of it.

God wants a partnership with us where we are neither autonomous, nor are we independent contractors. We say it so much we lose the meaning: He wants to be Lord of our lives - that is, He wants to be involved in our decision-making. He wants us to depend on and consult with Him.

Some Christians misinterpret this and won't make a move unless God tells them to. A much larger group of believers fail to involve Him at all in their decision-making.

We are self-sufficient by nature; we have to be taught how to depend on and consult with our Lord. This is why the "American Dream" is so at odds with the life of God. The American Dream is about security and comfort. The two cars, the house, the nice job, the insurance policies, can all release us from the need to depend on God. None are wrong in and of themselves, they are just twigs in a nest.

Jesus told his disciples to pray for their daily bread. When you need God to this degree, it gives you the opportunity to see His goodness as He provides, which in turn enables you to trust Him.

I am one of many American Christians who struggle with this issue of trusting God (in the radical way that He wants to be trusted). Why? Because we don't really have to trust Him. And many of us don't fundamentally know if He is trustworthy.

Self-sufficiency is an insidious trap that can sideline us for life from God's Kingdom purposes. Which is why it is so important to practice the life of abandon as an exercise of our will before our nests become so comfortable that leaving them seems impossible.

Happy Independence Day everyone - may God grant you a measure of dependence on Him as well.