I’m in a hurry this morning and am getting ready to head to the radio station to record this weekend’s broadcast, but I wanted to post a quote, as we Texans say, “right quick.” There is a concept Stephen Covey writes about in his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, that I think is worth the price of admission just by itself. It is the concept of the Maturity Continuum. I refer to this quite often because it speaks truth, and it runs parallel to several Biblical principles.

On the Maturity Continuum, dependence is the paradigm of you—you take care of me, you come through for me, you didn’t come through, I blame you for the results.

Independence is the paradigm of I—I can do it; I am responsible; I am self-reliant; I can choose.

Interdependence is the paradigm of we—we can do it; we can cooperate; we can create something greater together.

Dependent people need others to get what they want. Independent people can get what they want through their own effort. Interdependent people combine their own efforts with the efforts of others to achieve their greater success.