One of the things which is ingrained into our culture is the idea of rugged individualism. We get it from the pioneers who came over the Oregon Trail or migrated west during the Great Depression. You either did it yourself, or it didn’t get done. Those who tried to sponge off others didn’t survive. The attitude still manifests itself is in the “do it yourself” ideal we have. For example, we don’t think it strange at all if a corporate executive works on his own cars. People like to show off the furniture they’ve made or the sweater they’ve knitted. Most of us tackle minor repairs around the house ourselves. We only call in the professionals if it’s something major or we don’t have the time, or we don’t want to bother with it.

In many other places in the world, stores like Lowes or Home Depot or the car-parts places would go broke because people just don’t do things for themselves. They don’t have the tools or the knowledge to handle repairs on their own. If something goes wrong, they call in the professionals. Some of it’s due to the idea that you should stay within the boundaries of your class. House repair is something office workers don’t do. And some of it is because of the prejudice against doing manual labor. It’s beneath a person’s dignity to get his hands dirty.

For example, shortly after we moved to Pakistan back in 1960, my father needed a few boards for something. He went down to the bazaar and had the boards sawed (precut dimensional lumber wasn’t available). When the boards were ready, thinking nothing of it, Dad put them on his shoulder and walked home. Everyone in the bazaar started laughing at him. Carrying your own lumber was something that just wasn’t done – it was totally inappropriate for a sahib to pretend he was a coolie.

As another example, several years ago I was in a bank to cash a check. While I was standing at the teller’s window I could see into the back office. A computer monitor had gone bad and was being swapped out. To my way of thinking this was a minor chore which anybody could do. Much to my surprise, it took a technician to unhook the old monitor and attach the new one. A peon was required to haul the old one away and carry in the new one. And a supervisor stood there the whole time barking orders at the other two. Three men to accomplish a two-minute job the technician could have handled by himself without any trouble!

Now, we can shake our heads at people’s prejudices which cause them to think that some forms of work are beneath them. We can look down our noses at people who define rigid work boundaries that impede efficiency. But there’s also a danger to our “do it yourself” philosophy. You see, we can easily get the idea that we can do anything if we decide to do it. We don’t need any help, thank you very much. And, we can easily transfer that attitude to God. We can take care of our own problems. We don’t need the Spirit to change us. We can make our own way into heaven.

The truth is that once we’ve sinned, we are incapable of restoring our relationship with God. There’s nothing we can do to earn our way into heaven. This is one project that can’t be done DIY. This is one time we really do need that specialist to do the work we are incapable of doing ourself. Fortunately, God has provided for us what we can’t provide on our own. We need to be humble enough to admit that we can’t earn salvation on our own terms. If we want it, we have to accept salvation as a gift.

The Apostle Paul puts it this way, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:1-9 NIV)

Each week we come together to remember that we can’t make it on our own. We come to give thanks that Jesus did what we were incapable of doing. We come to thank God for His mercy and grace.

The bread we eat reminds us of Jesus’ body which He sacrificed on our behalf. The juice reminds us that it is only through His blood that we are cleansed and made whole.