Monday, August 12, 2013

From Insecurity to Security of Self

The secure person...
“Is at rest and he need not envy, covert, compete by comparing, to prove something to himself or others...”
― SY ROGERS
How may we define the insecure person from the secure person? Well, fortunately, Sy Rogers has already done that above; or at least started us in that direction. We can know, in faith, that the secure person has the resources to draw on in order to make his or her life comparatively fulfilling, enjoyable, and capable of enduring – with joy – many difficulties.
Is it too hard for the secure person to find the uncomfortable life, comfortable? No, it is their role to accept life as it is.
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No coveting, nor comparing, nor envying do they do,
But the secure person tries to hold to everything true,
Their identity in Christ is solemn and steadfast,
Upon to Him alone do their burdens get cast.
Being a secure person is the acceptable life, because tolerance comes easy to the person who tolerates life where many would find it unacceptable. The secure person has no need for power or influence or to manipulate. Hence they handle power and influence capably. They can serve others, because they want to.
Being Secure and Providing Security
It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to provide others with security when we, of ourselves, have not received that gift. How are we to do unto others as we would have them do to us when we haven’t first enjoyed the blessing of being secure inside our own skin?
We tend to simply expect that because we are Christian we have already gained this sense of inner security. But in all reality, for so many of us, we don’t achieve a healthy sense of self-confidence without having first done the work on ourselves that God’s Spirit wants us to do.
We have to come to terms with the fact that we have little to offer, security-wise, if we have no security to offer ourselves. We are unable to serve as God would have us serve – limited in both capacity and capability – if we haven’t worked on routinely surrendering to the point where coveting, competing, comparing, and envying are all dealt with.
***
God wants us to be secure people, both for ourselves and for others. Secure people – who are connected with, and not disconcerted by, their brokenness – can be effective within the Kingdom context. What we have ourselves we have to offer others – in this case, safety and security, which is trustworthiness.
© 2013 S. J. Wickham.
Acknowledgment to Sy Rogers’ wisdom.

2 comments:

  1. It's something of a paradox that Abraham, father of all three major Faiths, walked out into insecurity - and kept walking - but with trust in his heart. I often wonder what his family must have been thinking. Were they as trusting as Abraham - did they feel safety, security and trust in their hearts?

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  2. No doubt they (probably like he) felt a lot of insecurity... faith must be forged on the anvil of insecurity.

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