The Villainy of Insecurity
I have witnessed the villainy of insecurity. Like the feigned limp of a wounded animal, drama becomes the lure and catalyst for assembling a protective posse. Pure gamesmanship! This lethal tactical display conceals the threat it poses. Hiding behind the facade of a timid veneer lies not a helpless victim, but a formidable power. Victimhood is its call to arms. This diminutive persona masks a magnitude of manipulative power far disproportionate to its appearance—a spiritual arsenal equal to its fiercest counterpart. Insecurity is not to be indulged or pitied; it must be confronted as a lethal enemy.
The Masquerade
Insecurity masquerades as a deficit, which it is, though not the kind that totally disadvantages. Such is the nature of the structures of darkness. Which is not to say the people involved are complicit. Not at all! Captivity blinds the prisoner as much as anyone else. Still, the sinister nature of woundedness manifests in an inevitable transition from oppressed to oppressor.
The affected, however, will always feel like the victim and contend for their innocence. ‘How can this be possible?’ you ask. Because insecurity acts like a spiritual parasite, we unknowingly harbour it.
Paul accurately describes this dynamic, saying, ‘I see another in my members, warring against the law of the mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is my members’ (Romans 7:23).
Yet, under the banner and appearance of weakness, a considerable power is at work. Part of its attraction is its pitiful display of weakness. Insecurity, posing as a hapless pawn, appeals for rescue and aid. Consequently, many fallen are disarmed by the romantic ideal of ‘being the hero’. Rising to the aid of the proverbial damsel in distress speaks to male DNA. Despite this pattern, insecurity is not an exclusively female problem.
The big question is, ‘How then does one go from being a victim to the perpetrator victimizing others?’
The Mode of Operation
Let me quickly outline how insecurity evolves. It can start with a compromising emotion by way of a wound. In addition, insecurity can flow from the general sense of self-doubt we see in Adam after the fall. Spiritually, it is like an opening in the ground where we might place a seed. The enemy wounds and sows a destructive seed, making the ‘victim’ the new host.
When we feel insecure, we suspect others but not ourselves. This translates to feeling compromised and in need of safety. What follows is a series of protective measures. These are then merely the understandable efforts of self-preservation. Insecurity becomes its own justification for increasingly intensive fortifications, which move from defensive to offensive. Heightened fear creates a need for greater and greater protections.
This evolution creates a rationale and pretext for tyranny. I feel unsafe and therefore can justify any act, preemptive or otherwise. Insecurity is like leaven in a lump of dough, which has no limits. While these measures promise to resolve our problem, they instead expand the canopy of fear. The effect causes a kind of recoil. That is, now, rather than facing the world with open arms, we turn inwardly and burrow ever deeper in pursuit of refuge.
Herein is the problem. The nature of the fall is that it turned us inward. Self-effort, self-empowerment, and self-righteousness are the result, along with every other ‘self’ known to mankind. Whereas we were previously disposed to trust and depend on God, self-reliance now assumes that place. Fear is the immediate condition which follows. The deeper we turn, the greater the need for more security. Unless halted, it breeds increasingly insane versions of suspicion and illogical dread. When fully developed, we are convinced that everyone and everything is conspiring to disrupt our happiness. Our solution is more safety!
Reversing Insecurity
At stake within these common struggles is something much greater than hurt feelings and vulnerability. What is actually unfolding is the matrix of a kingdom. I’ll let you guess which one. This is really about the choices which will align us with light or darkness. The impulses behind insecurity may appear meek, but they goad us in the direction of limitless evil. In the end, no matter what vengeance we exact upon those guilty, we will always believe ourselves to be the victims. The result is that people who become incorrigibly evil still believe themselves to be righteous. It is all the work of insecurity, which, if understood, can be easily reversed.
Why else do tyrants and dictators slay even their closest friends and allies? Their minds are corrupted by strains of insecurity that, like weeds, have gone to seed, producing a bloodthirsty, murderous harvest.
After World War 2, the Allies convicted and hanged Nazi leaders. The stunning reality is how stalwart and insolent many were to the very end. It can only be understood by way of the paradox of insecurity. Contrition is unfathomable when you convince yourself of your own innocence. The sheer span of wickedness, whether calculated in the numbers of Jews murdered and disposed of as buried ash or the brutality against their own countrymen, was all considered balanced and even-handed; a just response from the truly traumatized.
This is the vile fruit of insecurity. If allowed to survive, it will drive us down a path of darkness whose end is death. Insecurity, like the immoral woman from Proverbs, yields the same end.
For her house leads down to death, and her paths to the dead; None who go to her return, nor do they regain the paths of life
Proverbs 2:18-19
So what defence is there against such an end? Well, Jesus gave us a very clear directive, instructing us to turn the other cheek. We can either obey the dictates of our insecurities or do the polar opposite. Heaven’s strategy tells us to avoid the impulse to defend ourselves. Jesus instructed us to make ourselves vulnerable by turning the other cheek. The impulse of insecurity drives the other direction in pursuit of safety! Consider the two directions… one pushes inward, the other exposes outwardly. Or, put another way, we turn inward. One direction is a choice to save your life… that is a poor choice.
Insecurity must not be obeyed. It must be denied and subdued.
Suspicion at Work
The problem is that the initial options do not convey the gravity hiding within them. At the onset, the choices do not play out as either dark or sinister. Consider! You walk into a room where three people are harmlessly discussing an issue. Upon entering one or all of them, look your way before continuing on, speaking in hushed tones. Fear and rejection jets through your body like a shot of illicit drugs, and you conclude they are conspiring against you. You can neither validate nor disprove the belief, and so it stays waiting for confirmation, which never comes.
Now flush with adrenaline, we find ourselves intimidated and possibly aggressive or wounded. Unfortunately, it is likely all imaginary. I can attest to having many such moments in my early years. Once I became a believer, the Holy Spirit made dealing with the fruit of insecurity a priority, a process which continues to this day.
One of the fallouts of this common expression of insecurity is the tendency to generate an ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentality. We can become unnecessarily combative and isolated.
What is peculiar about insecurity like this is how quickly and easily it is believed. We trust its feelings even if they never prove dependable. Under the most dubious of circumstances, we can overlook evidence to side with it.
Yet, if that were the worst possible outcome, it would still not be deserving of significant scrutiny. And the truth be told, the paranoia of most never deepens past this. These will be careful, adjusting to a regular barrage of phantom conspiracy theories. They will exist within a handful of safe friendships, unified around the notions of the injustice of make-believe enemies.
Flirting with Evil
If this is you, it makes you cagey but not necessarily dangerous. The real threat comes when we dive deeper and decide to indulge in the fantasies of insecurity. Once we begin to formalize our agreement with this cousin of fear, we risk stepping into another realm. Lying in wait is a set of special skills buried within our emotional vulnerabilities. Once we begin to indulge it, the potential of an endless black hole opens.
This is not an exact science where precise measurements and math equations can define increases, but there are levels of fear and insecurity able to draw us into the unknown.
When fear motivates us enough to isolate and contend against what we suspect others might do, we enter something a little darker. Those taking this path will deepen their approach by creating allies willing to become part of their protectorate. They manipulate the compassionate into covenants which secure their allegiance. Any pretend attack on you becomes a real attack on them.
These will create circles of intimacy around them, driven by their enlarged sense of risk. What actually emerges is a very imperialistic dynasty able to justify any form of control. Potential opponents are ostracized as impenetrable barriers are erected by worker bees in favour of their queen.
Social structures emerge with a tremendous capacity for villainy. Of course, malice is never suspected since it is all assembled for protection rather than dominance. Do not be fooled! Behind the muted demeanour of the insecure is a ravenous evil rarely identified.
A Surprising Moment
Biblically speaking, one key moment stands as a monument to the destructive power of emotional need. It comes through, of all people, the Apostle Peter. Additionally surprising is the window of time in which it arises. The unfortunate event comes right after Peter’s greatest endorsement.
In Matthew 16, Jesus makes that epic declaration about building the Church and destroying the gates of hell. In so doing, He credits Peter for a unique moment of revelation. It is rare praise.
However, on the heels of this exalted occasion comes a demoralizing rebuke. While Jesus begins to unfold how He will be arrested and killed, Peter reacts. Jesus scolds Him by literally addressing the source as being not Peter but Satan himself.
“Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offence to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
Matthew 16:23
The question worth asking is this: What could have motivated Peter to allow himself to become a conduit for the Prince of Darkness? Except for Jesus’ reaction, the dialogue appears relatively harmless. Yet, the reply Jesus made was unambiguous. As innocent as Peter’s intent seemed to be, it was the kind of substance darkness could co-opt. The sternness of our Lord tells us something critical.
The issue comes down to what Satan can use to manifest his will. It does not take overtly sinister intent, only misguided feelings. Peter’s affections for Jesus and the possibility of the twelve becoming spiritually orphaned were the root. For his part, Peter was not suddenly demonized or frothing at the mouth. So then why was Jesus’ response so dramatic?
Simply put, Satan can assert himself by co-opting human passions. We fail to realize that anything not born from above is like putty in his hands. Whatever is not born of faith is sin (Romans 14:23).
In this sense, Jesus is redefining what is dangerous and evil. He told us wrath puts us in danger of hellfire, and looking at a woman to lust is as adultery. This kind of scale changes everything. Murderous or obviously malicious intent is not required. This was Jesus' point! Peter was not intending to lead a rebellion against heaven. He was, however, interested in maintaining the status quo. This was also an interest Satan could redirect; insecurity is the same. It paints itself as a victim while it conceals death and destruction on a potentially global scale. This is the villainy of insecurity!