I recently attended a sporting event at the high school where my wife teaches and coaches. As some of her players passed us (without acknowledging us), she commented on how strange it was that one minute these girls would be so nice, and the next minute they acted like they didn’t know you. This sparked a conversation about how insecure these students really are. The school is in one of the most affluent counties in the state, and the students at this school are in the upper income brackets of the county. So why are they so insecure? I propose that students today are more insecure than they have ever been. I can’t prove it and you can’t disprove it, so let’s just accept the proposal. My reasoning, which you can argue with, is based on the fact that the students of this generation have been raised on the doctrine of self-esteem. We see programs to build self-esteem, and teachers are taught to strengthen self-esteem, and when young people are unhappy or do bad things, we say it is because they have low self-esteem. So what relation do self-esteem and insecurity have? I believe that the more self-esteem is built, the more insecure one becomes. The reason this happens is because young people are taught that they must feel good about themselves, regardless of what happens. And, that if they just feel good about themselves, everything will be just fine. To esteem one’s self is to think highly of one’s self. The reason these students are so insecure is because that they have been given everything to think highly about themselves, through instruction, affirmation, and material possessions. However, in reality they see how they fail, how they are not perfect, how someone always has more stuff than them, how someone else gets more praise than them, how someone else looks better than them, or how someone else succeeds more than them. They’ve been told to just think highly of themselves and everything will be fine, but no matter how high they think of themselves, there is always someone who seems higher. So, it becomes a battle to think that they are indeed higher (better) than their peers. However, if young people were taught to esteem others instead of themselves, they would be much more secure. More importantly, they must learn to esteem the ultimate Other, that is, Jesus Christ. He has commanded us to "die to ourselves". When Christians do this, we find our identity in Him. Then, no matter how much others have or get, or how bad we fail, our identity is in the One who is perfect and holy. We can then see ourselves in proper perspective and have the greatest security ever. Our young people have been lied to. When they hurt, they just keep trying to conjure up more positive thoughts of themselves, or go to someone who will tell them positive things to build their self-esteem. What a destroyer self-esteem is! By esteeming God highest, and others as higher than ourselves, we find the greatest freedom, security, and peace. I hope and pray that my wife will get more opportunities to share with these girls the great Truths of God through her speech and actions and that they will see her great Security and will in turn, die to themselves.