Some people do the best they can and then leave the rest up to God when they should be giving it all to God, and then doing the best they can.
Independence
Blaise Pascal
What use is it to us to hear it said of a man that he has thrown off the yoke, that he does not believe there is a God to watch over his actions, that he reckons himself the sole master of his behavior, and that he does not intend to give an account of it to anyone but himself? Does he think that in that way he will have straightway persuaded us to have complete confidence in him, to look to him for consolation, for advice, and for help, in the vicissitudes of life? Do such men think that they have delighted us by telling us that they hold our souls to be nothing but a little wind and smoke — and by saying it in conceited and complacent tones? Is that a thing to say blithely? Is it not rather a thing to say sadly — as if it were the saddest thing in the world?
C. S. Lewis
Look for yourself and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.
Francis Frangipane
You say, “Well, I am not going to be anyone’s ‘yes man.’ If I see something wrong in a person, I’m going to warn others about it.” Fine. But beware that what you are calling “courage to speak out” is not more truly a deception masking a rebellious, dishonouring attitude. In other words, we each ought to take heed that our boldness to talk to others about problems with the boss or pastor or spouse is not just a pretense for self-righteousness, pride and dishonour.
Kay Arthur
Really, then, our problem is not weakness, but independence! And in covenant, you die to independent living.
George Matthew Adams
There is no such thing as a “self-made” man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success.
A. W. Tozer
Anyone who might feel reluctant to surrender his will to the will of another should remember Jesus’ words, `Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.’ We must of necessity be servant to someone, either to God or to sin. The sinner prides himself on his independence, completely overlooking the fact that he is the weak slave of the sins that rule his members. The man who surrenders to Christ exchanges a cruel slave driver for a kind and gentle master whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light.
Gerald May
The gentlest form of spiritual narcissism is the idea that one can accomplish one’s own spiritual growth… The belief that ‘I can do it’ is intimately associated with the assumption that ‘it is my idea, my desire, to do it.’ spiritual narcissism works to deny the realization that our spirituality comes from God.
William Law
Whenever a man allows himself to have anxieties, fears, or complaints, he must consider his behavior as either a denial of the wisdom of God or as a confession that he is out of his will. To be always in a thankful state of heart before God is not to be considered a high plane of spirituality but rather the normal attitude of one who believes that “all things work together for good to them that love God, who are called according to his purpose.”