📘 Lexicon Entry: Earned Security

The capacity to develop secure attachment patterns through healing relationships, even after experiencing early attachment wounds or trauma

Earned Security represents the remarkable human capacity to develop secure attachment bonds through transformative relationships, regardless of early attachment experiences. Drawing from Dr. Sue Johnson’s Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) research, this concept reveals that our brains can literally be rewired for connection rather than self-protection through experiences of consistent accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement. Theologically, Earned Security reflects the Incarnational Presence of divine love working through human relationships to heal attachment wounds and create the secure bases from which we can risk vulnerability in a world marked by loss. Unlike inherited security from stable early relationships, Earned Security emerges through the deliberate practice of what Johnson calls the A.R.E. framework—being Accessible (emotionally available), Responsive (attuned to needs), and Engaged (prioritizing the relationship). This process mirrors the theological understanding of sanctification as ongoing transformation through grace, demonstrating that our deepest wounds need not define our capacity for love.

Psychological-Theological Integration

APA: Geevarghese-Uffman, C. (2025). Earned Security. Political Theology Lexicon. Common Life Politics. https://www.commonlifepolitics.com/p/lexicon

Chicago: Geevarghese-Uffman, Craig. “Earned Security.” Political Theology Lexicon. Accessed [date]. https://www.commonlifepolitics.com/p/lexicon.

MLA: Geevarghese-Uffman, Craig. “Earned Security.” Political Theology Lexicon, 2025, www.commonlifepolitics.com/p/lexicon.

Theological: Geevarghese-Uffman, Craig. “Earned Security.” In Political Theology Lexicon. Digital theological resource. https://www.commonlifepolitics.com/p/lexicon (accessed [date]).

Earned Security challenges the fatalistic assumption that early attachment wounds permanently determine our relational capacity, offering instead a vision of healing that reflects the transformative power of divine grace working through human love

Through consistent experiences of accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement, partners can literally rewire their nervous systems from chronic threat detection to expectation of goodness—a neurological miracle that embodies the theological promise of new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)

The A.R.E. framework (Accessible, Responsive, Engaged) reflects how divine love operates in human relationships, creating the secure bases from which vulnerable love becomes possible even amid life’s inherent brutality

Therapeutic individualism that treats Earned Security as personal achievement rather than gift received through relationship, missing its fundamentally communal and grace-dependent nature

Prosperity gospel applications that promise material security through spiritual practices, confusing psychological healing with divine blessing while ignoring systemic factors that prevent secure attachment formation

Self-help reductionism that treats attachment healing as technique rather than transformation, missing the mysterious and uncontrollable nature of how love creates security

Develops through repeated experiences of safety in relationship rather than individual effort or therapeutic technique alone

Creates measurable changes in brain function, particularly reduced amygdala activation when facing threat while in presence of secure partner

Enables emotional regulation—the capacity to manage difficult feelings without being overwhelmed or overwhelming others

Transforms previously overwhelming triggers into manageable challenges through internalized sense of secure base

Manifests as increased capacity for vulnerability, empathy, and presence with others’ pain without defensive self-protection

Reflects the Incarnational principle that divine healing comes through embodied presence rather than disembodied spirituality (John 1:14)

Embodies the theological understanding of sanctification as ongoing transformation through grace rather than one-time conversion experience

Demonstrates how divine love works through creaturely love to heal what sin and trauma have wounded, reflecting the sacramental principle of grace through material means

Mirrors the Trinity’s own relational nature—security found through mutual indwelling rather than self-sufficiency or independence

Reflects the eschatological hope that our deepest wounds can become sources of compassion rather than bitterness, embodying resurrection theology in psychological healing

1 John 4:18 – "Perfect love casts out fear" describes the neurological reality of how secure attachment reduces threat-detection systems

Isaiah 61:1-3 – The promise of healing for the brokenhearted through divine presence, enacted through human relationships that provide consistent care

Psalm 27:10 – "When my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up" reflects how divine love can provide security when earthly attachments fail

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – God’s comfort in affliction enabling us to comfort others demonstrates how received security becomes gift for others

Emotionally Focused Therapy’s 70-75% success rate in helping couples move from distress to recovery through attachment-based interventions

Trauma-informed pastoral care that recognizes how consistent relational presence can heal attachment wounds within ecclesial community

Marriage and family therapy approaches that focus on creating secure emotional bonds rather than mere conflict resolution or communication skills

Community organizing models that recognize how secure relationships enable sustained social justice work rather than activist burnout

Adult spiritual formation programs that emphasize safe community and emotional vulnerability rather than individual piety or intellectual knowledge

Dr. Sue Johnson’s extensive research demonstrating measurable brain changes in couples who achieve secure attachment through EFT interventions

Neurological studies showing reduced amygdala activation and increased prefrontal cortex regulation in securely attached adults facing stress

Longitudinal studies tracking how early attachment wounds can be healed through consistent experiences of safety in later relationships

Meta-analyses demonstrating EFT’s superior long-term outcomes compared to other therapeutic approaches, with gains maintained 2-3 years post-therapy

Attachment research with diverse populations showing effectiveness across trauma, depression, chronic illness, and major life transitions

Related Primary Concepts: Interindependence, Divine Presence

Key Mutations Addressed: Practical Atheism, Authoritarian Spirituality

Theological Alternatives: Being With, Incarnational Presence, Mutual Vulnerability

Historical Context: Perichoresis, Kenotic Love

2025-01-03

*This entry is part of the Political Theology Lexicon, accessible exclusively to subscribers. View the complete lexicon to explore related concepts and the full theoretical framework.*