Proverbs 5:12-14 English Standard Version

¹² and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
¹³ I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.
¹⁴ I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.”

It is hard to admit we are responsible for our own feelings of insecurity. They are after all our emotions.

A favored theologian wrote a book called “Security of the Believer”. Being interested in my own security I bought the book and read it cover to cover. It contained line upon line and precept upon precept of scripture, an endless stream of scripture. It did not help me with my own insecurity.

The theologian believed that all the answers to all of our problems are in the bible. While he was right, what he didn’t contain in his book was instructions on how to extract help from the scriptures alone separate from a shepherd. Teacher is only one aspect of the gifts of service and not the answer to every problem.

I cut my finger and my eye cannot help me type. It is the other fingers that help my wounded finger.

It is often the ones who are closest to us in maturity that can relate to our feelings where the mature in Christ are decades removed from dealing with our problems even if they suffered the same maladies.

Empathy helps with insecurity because the basic emotion of insecurity is loneliness. We feel like we are alone in this battle of the mind. We are not and it takes time in order to extract the help we need directly from scripture. In our infancy we are still learning how to hear the Holy Spirit.

In our maturity we tend to forget the struggle of the initiate to find themselves and know where they are in the family of God.

The infant wants to run but will stumble before they learn to control their bodies.

Emotions are no different.

John 13:23 English Standard Version (ESV) One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side,^[a]

Footnote ^[a] Greek in the bosom of Jesus

My sister-in law adopted a kitten, the runt of the liter. She kept the kitten in her room and isolated from the rest of us. It is after all her cat. She loves in and it loves her more than anyone.

From time to time she has to attend to family business and leaves us to take care of the cat. The cat comes to me and lays her head on my thigh and rests. She doesn’t go to my wife.

Does that mean I love the cat more than my wife? It is the cat’s choice to do so, not mine.

This is probably John expressing his feelings, that the Lord loves him. He is wont to admit it is John himself that reclines on Jesus. I get it, but what it does not say is that Jesus preferred John over any other disciple.

Whenever we think that someone we love pays attention to someone else, it tends to make us feel at least a little insecure. It shouldn’t but if we admit we are human, it does feed our insecurities.

Acts 10:34 English Standard Version (ESV) So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,

We can appreciate that it is Peter that is the only disciple to express this issue. Jesus called out Peter specifically to be “the little rock” upon which He would build His church. Does that mean Jesus preferred Peter? Not according to Peter.

When we look to scripture we find Peter, James and John are often named at some iconic moments, like the Mount of Transfiguration. Does that mean Jesus preferred them over the other disciples? According to Peter, no.

Peter was the only disciple to make that comment.

How does it make us feel when we see someone else has a closer relationship with Jesus than we do?

Insecure?