Wednesday Quote: Beth Moore (So Long Insecurity)

Today’s quote is from (one of) the book(s) I’m reading right now… So Long Insecurity, by Beth Moore. When I finish, I’ll write up a review, but I had to share this quote right now. And before I get started…

I really hope each and every one of you will get this book (buy or borrow – mine is from the public library, although I think I’m going to have to buy a copy so I can write in it.) I think insecurity is one of the biggest enemies we as women have. And I agree with my friend Tristie, who, in her review of this book says, “I will say, this book is completely and irrevocably written for THIS generation…(a generation) full of concern for appearance, self-identity lies, and an unhealthy focus on the opposite sex.”

Lest there be any confusion, I do love Beth Moore and thank God for her ministry to women and to me (and agree with Jenny Acuff from Stuff Christians Life about why we love Beth Moore. I can’t prove it, but I’m pretty sure that Beth Moore loves me.)

However, I’m not recommending this book to you because Beth Moore is wonderful, or because this book will save you from insecurity. Beth Moore can not save you from insecurity. And she’s not claiming to be able to. But Jesus can. He can and He wants to (Psalm 4:8, 16:9). What I think this book offers is an honest look at insecurity…it’s roots and the affect it has on us. And as she always does, Beth points us to the Word of God, and to our Lord and God, the only safe place to look for security. If I (or you) want to be free from insecurity, if I (or you) want to find security completely and only in the Lord Himself, reading this book is not going to do it for me…I’m going to have to confess, repent, and moment-by-moment, day-by-day, learn to walk in the truth. Praise God for Beth Moore’s honesty, and a book that points us to the only One who can save us from insecurity. And now… the quote! This is from the section of the book dealing with the roots of insecurity. She first deals with roots that vary from person to person – things that may or may not be in our backgrounds, preparing the ground for battles with insecurity. Then she moves on to roots that every woman reading the book probably has to face: pride/ego and our culture. As she discusses the affect our culture has on our battle with insecurity, Beth touches on the issue of comparison, which we just talked about… I thought it was an excellent follow up to that conversation, which is why I’m sharing now, when I haven’t even finished the book. Enjoy!

My generation is the first in all of history to grow up in a media driven society. What we’re dealing with is unprecedented; we cannot look to the generations before us to see how to handle it. We are drowning in uncharted waters, and it’s time we learned to swim. Most of our great-great-grandmothers had access to compare themselves to a few hundred women in a lifetime. We can now throw ourselves up against tens of thousands if we’re willing… We’d better step it up if we want to compete, and if we don’t, we might as well have the word loser inked on our foreheads.

In a telling article in Psychology Today, studies show that “women who are surrounded by other attractive women, whether in the flesh, in films, or in photographs, rate themselves as less satisfied with their attractiveness – and less desirable as a marriage partner.” Since the mark of real security is the ability to be around anyone, regardless of how attractive or intelligent, and still maintain personal confidence and contentment, that study says a lot about our need for a change. The primary point for now, however, is that we no longer feel inferior to ten other women the way our great-grandmothers might have. We feel inferior to thousands, and as a result, we become less and less satisfied with ourselves until much of our lives are lived on the slippery slope of self-loathing. We honestly talk ourselves into believing that media princesses, whether on the page or the stage, are the norm and that we are the pathetic few in the entire universe who can’t keep up. We hang these near-perfect images like an enormous collage on the walls of our brains, making common experiences like acne, extra pounds, a flat chest, or large nose twice the benefactor of insecurity that they once were.

Praying that we – whether we read this particular book or not – would all walk in security, not feeling inferior to anyone, but in the confidence that we are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus… (Ephesians 2:10)

But if you do read this book (and I hope you will), please tell me what you think, and where you see insecurity at work in your life.