One of the major problems facing people today is dealing with their insecurities. That is, the damaging idea that one doesn’t measure up physically, emotionally, or intellectually. How those insecurities are formed varies greatly but the results of being insecure are usually the same: stress, anxiety, and hurt feelings.
I found the carcass of this bug (image) near my front door this morning. I don’t have a clue what it is (if you know, please leave me a comment and tell me). Although you can’t see it, there’s an opening at the top of this brittle shell as if whatever occupied it is no longer there. The thing is almost see through.
It made me think of how many of us feel sometimes, as a mere image of what we once were. It can be one empty, hurting, disappointing feeling. We’ve got to fight that!
A place to start is for each of us to accurately define our A&E Levels. These may be different for you than they are for me. Regardless, ‘A’ stands for ‘achievement’ and ‘E’ stands for ‘excellence’.
What do you consider achievement? Success? We get in trouble when we let society answer that for us. You may be very frustrated if achievement to you means becoming a multi-millionaire. There are only of few of those people around. Don’t allow your level of success be synonymous with a 6 or 7 figure salary or the amount of possessions you can accumulate. The wise Teacher (Jesus) once said,
“Life is not measured by how much you own.” (Luke 12:15 NLT)
When we define achievement by how much we make, how far we go, and how many things we have we set ourselves up for failure because whatever we have never seems to be enough. So, we want more, and if we don’t get it we feel like we’ve failed.
Someone once said, “Whoever dies with the most toys, wins.” But in reality, all toys must be left behind when we die. Winning after death has to do with spending eternity in heaven with God and our loved ones!
The other definition we must wrestle with has to do with excellence. Society has drilled into our minds that we must go beyond excellence and be perfect in how we look, for example. But that’s impossible. Perfection can’t be achieved without Photoshop!
If you’ve adopted the idea that you must be lean, trim, and mean in order to fit in you’re in trouble.
The tough reality is that everyone wrinkles, sags, and/or drools…bottom line. At our Vacation Bible School today a little 6 year old girl passing by me as I spoke, grabbed her head, looked up at me, and said, “HEY, you just spit on me” (as she wiped it off). I answered, “Oh…don’t wipe it off, it’s good for you.”
All I’m saying is that we are imperfect in every way and to strive for perfection is both pointless and disappointing. So, where does that leave us? It leaves us with the need for mental and emotional transformation.
And where can we get that transformation from? God! More specifically, through God’s Son, Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul wrote the following,
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2Corinthians 5:17 NKJV)
The idea there is that God does a radical spiritual and mental transformation in all of us.
You may say, if you’re a guy, “A butterfly doesn’t seem to appealing to me.” Ok, then, think of a cat becoming a lion… whatever suits you. When we turn to the Lord, He gives us a much needed lift! God helps us see ourselves as being fearfully and wonderfully made. We realize that we’re a masterpiece in the making and that true satisfaction is found in knowing Him and being known by Him.
Society may still preach its superficial message but we give up the thought of living like an empty bug while relishing the freedom and potential that comes from having spiritual wings and flying high in Him. Hope this helps. Please feel free to leave me a comment and…thanks for reading!
Hey, Jorge, the bug-skin in your picture is from a cicada; those annoying yet harmless summer bugs that hide under the eaves of your porch and then dive-bomb you when you walk too close. They also have a very distinct noise which sounds like the trees are rattling. We used to call them locusts back in Kansas, although that is actually incorrect. They start out as crawling bugs but when it’s time for them to mature they crawl out and cling to tree trunks, benches, walls, etc. and shed their thin skin shell. They emerge with wings, fly to the trees and start making that eerie sound by vibrating their abdomen and wings.
But getting back to your message, you are absolutely right when you say that society pressures us to be those perfect people you see in magazine ads. When did you ever see large overweight people actually demonstrating those exercise machines?
Sure, I’d love to lose some weight myself, but as part of God’s family, I know He accepts me no matter what I look like!
Our transformation begins with our acceptance of Jesus Christ and will come to complete and perfect completion when we join Jesus in heaven.
I love what you called us, masterpieces in the making!
Knowing that our lives are being guided by the Master’s Hand should be enough to dissolve any insecurities we may have!
Great response, Jim! Never fat people on exercise machine, lol. And, thanks for telling me of those bugs. They must be the ones that get by my window and sound obnoxiously loud.
It looks like the shell of a cicada.
Thank you. Love you.
A cicada! Thanks, ugly little critter!
Dear Brother Jorge:
Have enjoyed and been encouraged by your blogs for sometime now. Yes, your words of wit and wisdom relate to even us Canadians.
Now when I saw the picture of the “bug” my immediate reaction was; Why, it is the ’emergence-shell’ of a cicada following one of it’s transformational phases. It has now taken flight in the interest of future generations. Yes, we have a Canadian version of the same ‘bug’.
Hey Ray, great to hear from you! Thank you for your encouragement. I have prayed for you in this new chapter in your life. Hang in there! A Canadian cicada…great to know. I have to research the cicada bug so I can get a good grip on what it’s all about.