How we define ourselves has a tremendous impact on our lives. Our beliefs run our emotions, will, reason, and behaviors. So if we have a negative belief about who we are, then we should expect that our emotions, will, reason, and behaviors will line up with that belief. The same holds true if we have a positive belief.
However, we are presuming something here. We are presuming we have the right to define ourselves. Scripture teaches that we were bought with a price. That implies that we are slaves. Slaves don’t have the right to define themselves. They are defined only by their master.
The Macro Identity
So how does our heavenly master, God, define us? Whether we believe it or not, these verses say who we are. God has declared it, and we don’t have the ability to override what God says is true. This macro identity is true of every single Gospel-believer who has ever lived, is currently living, and will live. it means that we have more in common with someone of a very different race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, language, etc, whom we’ve never met than we do with even members of our own family who don’t believe the Gospel.
Our identity is fixed because it is based on Christ’s finished work, not our works. We didn’t earn this identity. Our performance here on earth doesn’t match these Scriptures, yet they are absolutely true of us.
The Micro Identity
However, that isn’t the only identity you have. You have a second identity that is based on the way the Potter has fashioned you. That identity is based on your unique and specific call. You are the only one who can fulfill it, and fulfilling it will take your wiring, story, strengths, weaknesses, successes, and failures. What’s even greater about this call is that God will empower you to fulfill it whether you try to run from it like Jonah or whether you embrace it like Elisha. You will succeed at this call because God will work through you to accomplish it.
False Identities
We have false identities floating in us that are tied to what we do or how we’ve behaved. So for example, I can say I am a husband, a father, a business owner, a leader, a speaker, etc. They can also be negative. I can say I am fat, I am an insecure person, I am an anxious person, etc. Are those things true? If you notice, those things don’t fit the Macro or Micro identity. They are not tied to how God sees us. They may be true of us for a season but not true of us for our entire lives. Moreover, it is not who God says we are because they are based on us, rather than being based on Christ’s finished work and who God declared us to be.
Defining ourselves that way can be really costly. Let’s take a positive one: “I am a husband.” If I define myself that way, what happens if my marriage is threatened or (heaven forbid) my spouse or I cheat on the other and we divorce? My identity would be crushed. The same is true for a negative example: “I am fat.” What if I define myself that way? Then my emotions, will, reason, and behaviors will lead me to maintain that belief, and so I can expect to sabotage my efforts to be a good steward of my body.
Instead, we need to base our identity on who God says we are as He is our creator and is the only one who has the power, wisdom, and understanding to know us.
Chew On This:
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What false identities have you formed?
The 1st Principle Leadership brand was created to equip Christian heads of companies to live in congruence with Christ and grow thriving businesses that truly glorify Him while functionally putting Christ and their families ahead of the business.
*This blog is an amalgamation of a few different clients. No client is being singled out.
