Do you remember high school, when you weren’t allowed to use Wikipedia for your research paper?
My teachers would always tell us to find a reliable resource – a scientific study maybe, or an article from a reputable newspaper.
Do teachers still say that? Perhaps now they just caution teens not to believe everything that pops up in their news feeds. Anyway, I have a point, I’m getting to it:
Insecurities are not a reliable way to define who we are.
For some sad reason, I can trust my insecurities as truth over anything else. It doesn’t matter what the reality is, or where a compliment comes from. I hear the voice of insecurity and believe it first.
A compliment on my appearance: Well, that just means I’m not as much of a train wreck as I usually am.
Encouragement about a talent or skill: Ha! You must not have met all of the more talented people out there.
After someone on the street looks at me a beat too long: This dress must fit wrong or look funny.
Even a Bible verse that holds a promise: That counts for everyone else, but definitely not for me.
Why should our insecurities determine our value, abilities, dreams, gifts, hopes?
And why do we put so much stock in them, more than other things? Why do we just flat-out disbelieve the words that come from so much more of a solid place?
It’s time to start seeing the where our security should and shouldn’t be coming from. I’m breaking it down today in the hopes that by defining them, I can be more aware. And make more reliable calls about my worth from the right places – the right sources of security.
Unreliable Sources of Security
Moods and Feelings
Feelings go up and down at the drop of a hat. If our worth is coming from those, it means that it’s affected by the weather, our shortcomings, our level of anxiety, something someone said to us thoughtlessly today. These things are just not dependable enough to determine our worth.
Numbers and Data
I could use a lot of numbers to describe me – my weight, shoe size, cookies eaten today, the number of times I’ve yelled in my house this week. I could look at the data – I’ve made dinner 4 out of 7 nights this week, called 2 friends, read about 60% of a book. None of these numbers or statistics can be a solid place to get my worth.
Someone You Barely Know
Someone’s opinion of me in public or online can send me into a frenzy. People are fickle, and a million things affect their moods and opinions. (Me too; see above.) We can’t rely on them, either.
Social Media and Other People
But obviously there are people out there who are perfect; just look at social media! Nope, nope, nope. We cannot measure our self worth against someone’s highlight reel or like count, because there are a million other things behind the lens that you can’t see.
Reliable Sources of Security
So where can we find our worth?
God and His Word
The one who created us knows us intimately, and goes behind us and before us (Psalm 139) – so he knows each and every one of us better than anyone else. He looks at all that we are, and we’re still the apple of his eye (Psalm 17:8). If he says we are worthy, who is anyone to say otherwise?
Also, his words are unchanging and eternal (Psalm 119:89) – so they are far superior to any other words we could apply to ourselves. I would say those are a solid source.
The People Who Know Us Best
It’s funny how fast I can instantly discredit the people who know me well. I can distrust their kind words, as if they had some ulterior motive to butter me up. When actually they are the people who can afford to be the most honest with me, and usually do. We should most trust the people who tell us the good as well as the bad.
The Things That Make Us Soar
What are you most passionate about? What do you love? Sometimes we discredit those things more than we should. (Anyone else hate the question, “what are your talents?”)
The unique things that make us who we are, the wonderful talents we have, our own individual characters, the fact that we’re not exactly the same as anyone else on this planet – all these things point back to the God who created us. (Our number one resource.)
The words that should be defining you and filling your thoughts of yourself should be of the highest quality. Because you – yes, even you – have a high and noble calling, and you were crafted especially for it. There’s no one that can substitute or stand in for you.
How about you?
What are your sources of security? Are the things you’re seeking comfort, worth and security from leaving you more whole, or more empty?
Photo Credit:
1 – Nicole Honeywill on Unsplash
2 – Kate Kalvach on Unsplash
3 – Kate Kalvach on Unsplash
4 – Rowan Chestnut on Unsplash
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