Capitalism & Kingdom — Part 3: The Myth of Independence

One of the great stories capitalism tells is the myth of the “self-made” person – that through grit, hustle, and excellence of execution, someone pulls themselves up by their bootstraps and creates their own success. It’s a story we admire because it celebrates freedom, autonomy, and accomplishment.

But if we’re honest, it is often just that – a myth. No one is truly independent. Even the most celebrated “self-made” leader built on foundations they didn’t create: roads and utilities, schools and teachers, mentors and peers, employees and customers, and the ideas of those who came before. The story of independence ignores the beautiful networks that make life and flourishing possible.

The Kingdom tells a different story. The pursuit of independent glory is superseded by the beauty of interdependence. Scripture gives us the image of a Body. A body is connected and dependent; the hand can’t say to the foot, “I don’t need you.” The health of the whole depends on the interconnectedness of its parts.

We see this most vividly in the early church. In Acts 2 and 4, believers shared everything they had. “No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had… and there were no needy persons among them.” Their strength didn’t come from rugged independence, but from radical interdependence lived out in a community where each person brought what they could, and everyone received what they needed. That kind of unity was so countercultural that it became one of the church’s most powerful witnesses.

So what does this mean for us today, especially in the marketplace? It means choosing collaboration over competition, generosity over hoarding, and mentorship over isolation. It might look like opening doors for others instead of protecting territory, sharing resources with a struggling peer, or inviting others into your network even when there’s no immediate benefit for you. In short, it is about trading the idol of independence for the grace of interdependence and in doing so helping the Body of Christ flourish in every corner of our city.