“You all know,” said the Guide, “that security is mortals’ greatest enemy.” Guide (The Pilgrim’s Regress)
Why is it that we all seek security? We want it in friends and family. We want it in our schools. We want it in our hobbies. We all search and if we find it, even just a little bit, we latch on and suck out everything that it can give. It is our enemy. It is this, because nothing in this world can ever satisfy the the entirety of our need for security– physically, mentally, and spiritually. I see enemy as synonymous with weakness in this particular usage. Security holds us back from reaching our potential just like kryptonite holds back Superman, except we aren’t Superman.
Our problems are similar though, we attempt to stay away from the things that drain us, but somehow we always end up running into them. Our security must only be found in one thing in order to escape the clutches of the “kryptonite” in our lives. Security must be found in Christ. In anything else, there will be a let down. They can only hold us up for so long. We find these things out in solitude. This is where we begin to understand our insecurities in order to find security in the hope of Christ.
Henri Nouwen writes, “In solitude I get rid of my scaffolding: no friends to talk with, no telephone calls to make, no meetings to attend, no music to entertain, no books to distract, just me– naked, vulnerable, weak, sinful, deprived, broken– nothing.” This is how we find out who we are and where we look for security. I find security in music. I listen to music as much as I can everyday. I am right now as I write this. It helps me focus. It helps me feel “secure” many days. I put too much stock in it though. I am trying to learn to have my times of solitude without it, because it will give me a better picture of who I am.
We use these small things, such as music, as a crutch to help us walk through each day when we have the cure right in front of us. I hope that we can all look to see that insecurity will always be there but instead of hopping along with a crutch each day, Jesus is there to carry us through this life. He always will be. Sometimes, it just takes a moment of quiet to truly figure this out.