Contrast clarifies.  When you see something by itself, you may not really understand it for what it is, but when it’s compared to something distinctly different, the comparison makes the truth about the identity of both more clear.  For instance, growing up in Hampton, VA, my parents' first house was a one thousand-square-foot house with no air conditioning.  It was in a neighborhood that may have had some people that did, but I wasn’t aware of them.  Dad eventually purchased a window unit that kept the dining room and living room cool, but it had little to no effect on the bedrooms down the hall!

However, when I was in the second grade, they sold that house and bought one a few miles away in another neighborhood that I swore was nothing but rich people.  It was a two-story, 1,800-square-foot house with central air and heat in a neighborhood of houses that all had it as well.  I literally thought my parents had bought a mansion in an upscale neighborhood until I was in the fifth or sixth grade and went to a friend’s house in a neighborhood called Farmington.  Every house in it was uniquely custom-built and way bigger than our house, and many of them even had pools in their backyard!

In addition, I noticed that the cars parked in their driveways were very different from the ones parked in the driveways in my neighborhood.  In my neighborhood, everybody had a newer family car that mom drove and an older high-mileage car that dad drove.  Most of the vehicles in my neighborhood had names like Ford, Dodge, Chevy, Pontiac, and Plymouth.  But in my friend's neighborhood, the junky cars were slightly used Chryslers, Lincolns, and Buicks, and the nicer cars were brand new-looking Mercedes and BMWs!  A few people in my neighborhood had an Oldsmobile or Mercury, but no Chryslers, Lincolns, or Buicks, and certainly no Mercedes or BMWs!  All of a sudden, I realized we were by no means poor, but we were also not rich.

Given the contrast between Farmington and my neighborhood, I assumed Farmington was where the rich people lived, that is, until we went to see a distant cousin of my dad who lived in Kingsmill, Va.  The people in Kingsmill had boats that cost more than the combined value of my parent's house and two cars!  We had a 16-foot wooden work boat that my uncle made and gave to my dad and grandfather when he retired from the oyster business.  Dad and Grandad covered it with fiberglass and powered it with a twenty-year-old Johnson nine-horsepower tiller outboard motor.  It didn’t have any seats per se, just three wooden benches that transversed the boat from one side to the other.  We stored it in my grandad’s backyard and pulled it to the water behind my dad’s blue 1968 six-cylinder Pontiac Firebird on the most basic boat trailer you could get.

However, the people in Farmington had the kind of boats we saw at boat stores.  Their boats had big outboard motors you drove with a steering wheel, or even more extraordinary, inboard outboard motors that you couldn’t even see the motor!  All their boats had seats that looked like car seats, and the ones that stored them at their house pulled them to the water on big fancy trailers behind big, nice trucks, but most of them just stored their boat at a dock they rented on the water.  So again, when the Farmington boats were contrasted with our boat, I assumed the people in Farmington were rich!  But, when we pulled into Kingsmill, I saw real mansions owned by people who parked the boats they owned, which were also like the boat people in Farmington owned, but they did so by parking them beside their yachts!  Contrast makes the truth about the identity of things more clear!  The people in Farmington were clearly financially better off than we were, but they weren’t rich … the people in Kingsmill were rich!

Last week, Zach Turton began our series through the second half of 1 Samuel, which we’ve named “Contrast: The Difference of a Life in Christ.”  Once you get to chapter 17 of First Samuel, it becomes obvious what the text is doing.  The writers take us squarely into a comparison of the first King of Israel, Saul, and the man who had been anointed to be the next King of Israel, David.  It already appeared when we first met David in chapter 16, but the domino that truly gets it going begins where Zach preached last week in chapter 17.

In chapter 17, David, likely a teenager, did what neither Saul nor any of his men would do—fight Goliath.  That victory set off a string of dominos that fall as fast as the eye can track the flow.  You only have to get a few verses into chapter 18 to see an obvious contrast between Saul and David that leaps off the page.  As soon as you read verse 8, you realize you are reading a story about two very different men.  One is truly secure in his identity, and the other clearly isn’t.  Although this contrast is seen all over the book of Samuel, to me, it's never more intentional or clear than in chapters 18 through 20.

Before we go any further, let me help you understand why this subject is essential.  Below is a chart of twenty examples of the general contrast between a secure and insecure person:

I don’t know about you, but it’s really clear to me which one of those lists I want to be my life.  So, with that in mind, let’s open our Bibles and examine the contrast between David's security and Saul's insecurity in 1 Samuel 18, which ironically begins with a testimony of Jonathan’s (Saul’s son) security.

 The story of 1 Samuel 18 has two distinct themes highlighting the difference between a secure and an insecure person.

 The first clear theme is that

Jonathan genuinely loved and honored David even though David was quickly becoming more popular than Jonathan. 

 1 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. 5 And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants.

 It’s no surprise at all that Saul took David from his father after David defeated Goliath.In 1^st Samuel 14:52, we read,

 Note: “52 There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he attached him to himself.”  (1Samuel 14:52)

So it wasn’t just David that Saul snatched up into his service for sure, and thus, it is no surprise that he did it to David. However, what’s interesting here is that despite David's immediate celebrity status for defeating Goliath, Jonathan wasn’t intimidated by it. Instead, he was inspired by David to the point that he was willing to give David his royal robe, armor, and sword, which, by nature of who he and his father were, would have been the best in all of Israel.

 Let’s be clear about all this. Jonathan had no personal need for David in that he didn’t need to latch himself on to David to get status.  Jonathan was already a highly respected hero.  For instance, when his father and the army of Israel were hiding in the hills out of complete fear of the Philistines, Jonathan got his armor-bearer and attacked a Philistine garrison with such deadliness that it caused the entire Philistine army to panic!  So, the point is that Jonathan didn’t befriend David to make himself look better; rather, he did so because David genuinely inspired him.  Furthermore, instead of worrying about this rising superstar outshining him or getting more attention, he actually intentionally helped David outshine him and get more attention!  Jonathan loved him as a brother, as his own flesh and blood!

 Some, like Woodhouse, suggest that Jonathan was abdicating his throne by giving David his robe and weapons.⁴Woodhouse, J. (2008). 1 Samuel: Looking for a leader (pp. 347–351). Crossway Books. Although I understand why some scholars would make the same conclusion as Woodhouse, I still don’t agree with it. Jonathan is the prince of Israel, and as such, he has far more than one royal robe, and he certainly has access to more armor and swords!  It wasn’t as if Jonathan would stop wearing a royal robe nor go into battle without royal armor and a sword!

Conversely, I believe R.D. Phillips does a much better job of capturing what’s going on here when he wrote, “Why would Jonathan do this? S. G. DeGraaf answers: “This deed on his part was an act of faith. Only faith makes us willing to be the lesser. Faith causes us to surrender the rights we pretend to have.” In short, where sin would have made enemies, faith made brothers. Materially, the military equipment that Jonathan gave to David was of great value, especially since it was no doubt of very high quality. What Jonathan really gave David, however, was the honor of his endorsement before the army. How easy it would have been for the soldiers to respond as had David’s brothers (1 Sam. 17:28), who resented being shown up by this young upstart. Some of them, in loyalty to their hero Jonathan, may have resented the supplanting of Saul’s son. Others would have looked for flaws in David and demeaned his overall lack of military experience. But none of this would be possible once Jonathan, the darling of the army, had placed his robe, armor, and weapons onto David.”⁵Phillips, R. D. (2012). 1 Samuel (P. G. Ryken & R. D. Phillips, Duguid Iain M., Eds.; 1st ed., pp. 314–324). P&R Publishing.

 The point being, that Jonathan is acting like a man who is totally secure in his identity because he knows how God sees him and loves him.As such, Jonathan can, without hesitation, be genuinely knit together as a brother with a man who draws more attention than he does, has a bigger footprint, and even has more significant potential than he does.  Jonathan genuinely helps him have more success with no intention of trying to ride his coattails.  Jonathan’s motive is nothing more than love for David and, therefore, a genuine desire to see David succeed as much as possible in whatever God wants him to do!

Let me quickly address an increasingly popular absurdity among liberal scholars concerning David and Jonathan’s relationship.The idea that they had a homosexual relationship is a grotesque twisting of the Biblical narrative that deserves nothing but a rebuke.  Loving somebody as you love your own soul and being knit together with them is exactly how Jesus taught us to love others!   It’s how the Body of Christ should love one another!  The idea that it is some kind of sexual relationship is obscenely ridiculous.  Therefore, it is such a perverse and farcical conclusion to suggest David and Jonathan had a homosexual relationship that it’s intellectual insanity to even engage with the arguments that attempt to prove it.  It would be the equivalent of arranging a symposium to entertain arguments that the Earth is flat or that the moon is made of cheese.

The second distinct theme that highlights the difference between a secure and an insecure person is that,

David sincerely and loyally served Saul, who ironically feared David’s popularity and hated him for it. 

 6 As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments.

 Note:  They are coming to meet SAUL!  They are there to honor Saul’s leadership over Israel.  This is key to understanding just how insecure Saul is!  Watch what happens.

 7 And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, "Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands." 8 And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?"

 Now, could you imagine Bill Belichick being angry at the press for producing so many articles and stories about Tom Brady’s success? Could you imagine Rick Hendrick holding a press conference to demand race fans purchase t-shirts with his face on them instead of Jeff Gordon’s or Jimmie Johnson’s?  Can you imagine Phil Jackson being upset that, as a former professional basketball player, one of his players (Michael Jordan) was praised as the greatest basketball player ever to play the game?  No!

So listen, some read verse seven and start sympathizing with Saul because they assume Saul is correct in thinking the women are somehow mocking him. But they are not.  They are giving Saul credit for David in the same way a Coach or a team owner is given credit for the success of the people they coach or hire!  They came out to cheer for Saul, and as such, they are cheering the fact that not only is their King a great warrior who has killed thousands of people who have terrorized Israel, but now he’s “hired” David, who is responsible for killing tens of thousands of people who have terrorized their nation!

In all of Saul’s insecurity, he couldn’t interpret the success of somebody under him as a success. His leadership required him alone to be seen as successful, which is, by definition, horrifically bad and frankly stupid leadership!  They are out there cheering on Saul for his ability to lead an army and that he has placed a champion under him named David in the same way that people cheer on Belichick, Hendrick, and Jackson!   But Saul gets totally offended by it!!  Saul’s inability to hear this for what it is, is a very straightforward testimony of an insecure person.

A wise King who is secure in his identity as King would have been high-fiving everybody and celebrating that his team, which he leads, now has a superstar who can ensure the success of his Kingdom. However, Saul takes it completely the wrong way!  His insecurity causes him to act foolishly instead of wisely.  Look what happened next.

 9 And Saul eyed David from that day on. 10 The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. 11 And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, "I will pin David to the wall." But David evaded him twice.

 “In NT terms this would be a demon, one of the minions of Satan. But in the terms of the OT, its precise nature is left undefined. It is a spirit that Yahweh can send upon those who reject him and that he allows to prompt them—but not force them—to do evil. For a particularly good example later in the historical narrative, see the רוּחַ שֶׁקֶר (ruach sheqer) (“misleading spirit”) in the mouth of Ahab’s prophets, sent by Yahweh to “entice” (פִּתָּה, pittah) Ahab into fighting a battle in which he will be killed (1 Kgs 22:20–22). V. 10 informs us that David played for Saul daily, as needed (וְדָוִד מְנַגֵּן בְּיָדוֹ כְּיוֹם בְּיוֹם, wedawid menaggen beyado keyom beyom). That the influence of the harmful spirit resisted the intended musical therapy recommended by Saul’s servants in 1 Sam 16:15–17 and caused him to attempt to murder David shows that the musical remedy was a failure—at least from a medical point of view. But since it led to the advent of David at court, it accomplished Yahweh’s plan. Was it then the harmful spirit or Saul himself who wanted David dead? The answer has to be Saul, since the narrative context shows he had strong motives in his jealousy. But the harmful spirit (רוּחַ רָעָה, ruach ra'ah) was a spirit of envy, ambition, and fear.”⁶Hoffner, H. A., Jr. (2015). 1 & 2 Samuel (1 Sa 18:10–11). Lexham Press.

 David is not only serving Saul as a warrior but also as a musician! This mighty warrior being sung about in the streets is honored to lay down his armor and sword and play music for Saul and his court instead of participating as a member of his court!  Think about that for a minute!  You’re the MVP of the Israeli army; you should have a seat at the table with Saul, but instead, you're playing music for everybody while they hang out and eat!

In addition, Saul tried to kill him with a spear twice!I don’t know about you, but I may have been able to write the first one off as a careless mistake. However, I would have likely thrown the second one back at Saul!  But David didn’t!  What a clear testimony of a man who is secure in who he is!  Nonetheless, instead of Saul seeing David’s unwillingness to strike back at him for what it was (loyalty!), Saul continued down the path of foolishly selfish decision-making that epitomizes an insecure leader.  The Bible says,

 12 Saul was afraid of David because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul. 13 So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. 14 And David had success in all his undertakings, for the LORD was with him. 15 And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.

Quickly, whenever the writer of Samuel separates Israel from Judah, it is another reminder that this was likely written after the Hebrew people split into two Kingdoms. The northern kingdom was called Israel; its capital was Samaria; the southern kingdom was Judah, and its capital was Jerusalem.  However, there was just one Kingdom at this point in Israel’s history.

The more significant point here is that instead of Saul seeing that David had what he didn’t, the anointing of God on his life, and therefore a desire to get close to God by getting close to David, Saul instead sends David off to what he hoped would kill him!Saul wasn’t trying to platform David and use him for the glory of God and the benefit of Israel; he was trying to get rid of him!  How stupidly foolish is that!  Look what happens next,

 17 Then Saul said to David, "Here is my elder daughter Merab. I will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD's battles." For Saul thought, "Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him."

 Note: As you will see in a minute, Saul has no intention of letting the son of a sheep herder join his family. This is flat-out narcissistic manipulation, also known as a lie!  Knowing enough about how things work, David humbly questioned the rationale of Saul’s vow.

 18 And David said to Saul, "Who am I, and who are my relatives, my father's clan in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?" 19 But at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.

 Apparently, Adriel's household had something significant to offer Saul as a reward for marrying his daughter Merab. Therefore, when the opportunity surfaced, Saul, as one who was utterly unreliable, without hesitation, ignored his vow to David, all while David was actively upholding his side of the bargain.

 Talk about a letdown!Imagine you are a young single guy from an insignificant family who was just promised the opportunity to marry into the King's family if you fight for the King.  So, you go out and do that very thing, putting your life on the line for your King, only to hear that the King went back on his word!  Talk about demoralizing!  It wasn’t like the price was to wash his car or pick the weeds out of his garden; the price was to put his life on the line to fight for the success of his Kingdom!

But no matter how much it disappointed or hurt David, he was unfazed in his loyalty to Saul, nor was David phased in his faithfulness to God. David knew who he was, and he was secure in it.  Saul, on the other hand, wasn’t.  Therefore, despite the fact that David had yet again displayed his complete loyalty to Saul by continuing to energetically and reliably serve Saul, Saul instead continued to use his own daughters as tools to manipulate and kill David.

 20 Now Saul's daughter Michal loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 21 Saul thought, "Let me give her to him, that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." Therefore Saul said to David a second time, "You shall now be my son-in-law." 22 And Saul commanded his servants, "Speak to David in private and say, 'Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now then become the king's son-in-law.'" 23 And Saul's servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, "Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king's son-in-law, since I am a poor man and have no reputation?" 24 And the servants of Saul told him, "Thus and so did David speak." 25 Then Saul said, "Thus shall you say to David, 'The king desires no bride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged of the king's enemies.'" Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

 Saul’s even manipulating and using the love of one of his own daughters at this point!We are never told what Merab thought of David, but Michal loved him!  This is BLATANT selfish manipulation from a morally weak and unstable person who is so insecure that he’s not only intent on finding a way to kill a man who could ironically make him more successful, but he’s also more than willing to crush the heart of one of his own daughters to get it done!

 But what about David? How is he going to respond to this offer?  I mean, Saul has tried to kill him with his own spear twice and broke his word without hesitation. Well, David, confident in who he is in God, responded with complete forgiveness of Saul’s past transgressions, and with total confidence, he went off to kill Philistines, circumcise them, and bring back their foreskins, but he went out with even more enthusiasm and intention than Saul could have ever imagined.  Watch what happens!

 26 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. Before the time had expired, 27 David arose and went, along with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife.

 David proudly entered Saul's court and presented him with a box of two hundred foreskins! Saul demanded one hundred as the price, and David gave him two hundred!David clearly wanted Saul to know that he was completely loyal to him!

 Now, here’s what’s funny about this entire picture.Saul thought David would die in battle.  He had no concept that David was going to show back up with a box of rotting foreskins from 200 dead Philistine soldiers!  Saul was likely used to getting boxes of gold and silver, fine wine and foods, collectible pieces of artwork and literature, advanced weaponry, and all kinds of other valuable and beneficial gifts, but not a box full of Philistine foreskins!  Saul had no thought that David was going to show back up in his court, much less double the bride price!  Therefore, at this point, Saul had no choice but to give Michal to David in marriage and officially join David’s family with his.

Sadly, however, instead of finally saying, “Ok, this guy David is legit.He’s as trustworthy as it gets; he’s now married to one of my daughters and does nothing but win battles for me.  I think it’s time for me to get over the fact he’s super popular, stop being afraid of him, and celebrate that even though God took His Spirit from me because of my faithlessness, He has still been gracious enough to me to give me somebody He has anointed and is willing to loyally serve me with that anointing.” Instead of saying something like that, chapter 18 ends this way,

 28 But when Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him, 29 Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David's enemy continually. 30 Then the princes of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed.

Sadly, Saul doesn’t realize how ridiculous his self-defeating, irrational, selfish behavior is, and, as such, he never repents and seeks God to change.Instead, he doubles down on his insecurity and continues to live as an unstable man who sees David as a threat instead of the loyal ally that he is!

This also further demonstrates just how foolish insecurity is.Despite the self-centered life insecure people live, their foolishness always seems to find a way to overshadow their selfishness, so much so that they even reject obvious choices that would selfishly make their lives better.  In this case, if Saul’s selfishness could access at least a little bit of wisdom, Saul would realize fully embracing David as a faithful servant would open up a world of opportunity for himself!  Instead, Saul uses David because he’s afraid not to, meaning Saul never accessed David’s full capacity as a leader, and even what he did access, he did so always looking for a way to kill him.  He saw David not as the obvious ally that he was, but rather as an enemy!  It makes no sense on any level, but it further proves that insecurity never allows a person to be divorced from foolishness!

So, what do we do about it? How do we address the insecurities in our own lives?  How do we guard ourselves against letting our insecurity be our identity, that is, from allowing our insecurities to determine our mindset, emotions, feelings, and actions?  How do we keep ourselves from the snowball of selfish foolishness that all too often describes Saul's life?  In short, how do we overcome our insecurities and live out of the stability of our security in Christ?

Well, for the next three weeks, I want to end our discussion with a Gospel key to a life of security, that is, an essential truth revealed by the Good News of Jesus Christ that creates a life described by the list of examples I gave at the beginning of this sermon of a secure person.

 Security Key #1:  Define your value by God’s appraisal (the blood of Jesus), not man’s!

if you’re going to sell something, you don’t want to sell it to somebody who doesn’t know what it’s worth.  Years ago, a friend of mine named Josh Self purchased two aluminum cups from a garage sale.  He paid one dollar per cup.   He then put them on eBay to see if he could make any money selling them.  Here’s a picture of the same kind of cup that Josh purchased that day, except Josh told me the cup in this picture is actually in way better condition than the one he bought!

Now, understand that Josh had no idea what he had bought. He had just gotten good at listing things on eBay to maximize their resale price, and as such, it became a hobby of sorts to see if he could buy and sell stuff from garage sales at a profit. Anyway, it turns out that the rather simple-looking aluminum cups he purchased for a dollar a piece were rare collectibles from the 1940 Kentucky Derby, and they ended up selling for $1,000!  Needless to say, Josh has been looking for more of those cups ever since he sold them!

The point of that story is that the most fundamental truth you and I need to know is value.  Whether it's knowing the value of what we are investing our time and emotional energy into or what we are investing our money into, basic wisdom tells us to know what something’s worth before we invest in it.  As such, nothing could be more important than knowing what you’re worth!  If you don’t know what you’re worth, then you don’t know what’s worth you investing you into!

Your entire life revolves around what you think you are worth and, thus, who and what appraisal you’ve accepted as the truth about what you are worth.  Therefore, if you're selling yourself to the world, know the world will only pay you what they think you’re worth.  It’s just how things work.

And here’s the deal with the world: The world will never buy you; it will only rent you because the second you don’t give it what it thinks it's worth, it will stop paying you!

Furthermore, as you try to get the world to affirm you and prove that you are worth something, that is, as you try to sell yourself to the world, you're doing so as one who can’t sell yourself anyway because you’ve already been bought!  The Bible says,

“You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price.” (1 Corinthians 6:19b-20a)

And listen, the world couldn’t afford you even if it wanted to buy you!  The Bible says,

 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. (1 Peter 1:18-19)

 9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, (Revelation 5:9)

 In all our sin and unrighteousness, Jesus Christ not only said what we are worth, He proved it by paying it!  There is no value higher than the life of Jesus, and that’s what God declared that you, in all your sin and depravity, are worth to Him!  This isn’t some conceptual appraisal that projects your potential value; this is your real value because it’s what’s already been paid for you!

Therefore, if you want to be secure, you need to stop seeing yourself through the lens of what the world is willing to rent you for and start seeing yourself through the value already established—seeing yourself for what God has declared you’re worth!

There could be no more insecure life in this world than one that’s always trying to find value in what a lost, sinful world is willing to rent us for!  However, there could also be no more secure life in this world than one that is lived fully convinced that their value has been declared by the creator of this Universe who intentionally sent His only begotten Son to pay the penalty of our sin so that we could be His forever!

Stop selling yourself at a garage sale to people who could never know what you are worth, stop living your life trying to put on a performance to get people to tell you that you are valuable, and start praising God and living your life from the truth that He has already declared.  You ARE the most valuable thing in all the UNIVERSE!  Christ died for YOU because you are worth that much!

Discussion Guide 

It’s been said that every man has an insecurity that he is afraid of being exposed. That is likely true of every woman as well. Deep-seated personal insecurities often cause people to do things that are destructive to themselves and others, and the nature of the insecurity being hidden often means that the person never places himself in a position to honestly deal with the insecurity and set it aside.

The Gospel of Jesus is precisely what men and women need in order to overcome their self-destructive insecurity. So we are faced with a choice, will we live securely (as in the example of Jonathan) or insecurely (as in the example of Saul).

Discussion Questions

• How did Jonathan’s embrace of David as a friend show the faith that he had in the God who had made a promise to David?
• How did Saul’s lack of embrace of David demonstrate a total lack of faith in God?
• Why is sometimes hard to see insecurity in others or in yourself?
• How are faith and personal security related?
• Describe ways in which insecurity has cost you or someone you love dearly?
• How has God grown you in the area of personal security?
• Why does a secure person exude confidence?