Identity

I've been going to a series of classes led by Carl Medley for men. It has been really enlightening to me. One of the main themes we've been hitting on over and over again is the idea of identity. Everything in life hinges on it. Who do we perceive ourselves as? What do I identify with? Also important is what do I really believe? People say a lot of things when you ask them about their beliefs, but there is a big difference in what a person says they believe and what they actually do believe. The way you can see the difference is when your beliefs are actually put to the test, do you act according to what you say you believe or some other way? If you act some other way then this reveals the heart of what you really believe. Our beliefs and perception of identity are grounded in one concept which is faith. Another thing that I knew, but we have talked about is the power of the spoken word. The way I speak influences the way I believe and correlates with my perception of my identity. My spoken words can strengthen my beliefs or tear them down. Regardless of whether my words are true. Thoughts I think to myself in my mind are like this as well, but spoken words are thoughts put into action which is always more powerful. Even more powerful than this is when I act in ways that line up with the asserted truths according to the concepts behind the words I think and speak. (Aka. Faith put into action.) There is a saying a friend/mentor of mine used to say a lot when I was growing up. His name was Roc Moore. He said what your mind thinks on your body will seek to act out. This saying stuck with me because it is very true and powerful. Another word for this idea of conscious thought is focus. I am convinced that everything I am or have been or ever will be is connected to things I have focused on in the past and am focusing on now. My attentions define me. This is why it is so important that I learn to choose what thoughts I will or will not allow my mind to entertain. I believe this concept is generally foreign to most people in America's culture today. Our society is full of things begging for our attention. Television and other media are designed to appeal to our attentions. What is appealing however is not always beneficial. Back to this idea of identity. If I am in highschool and notice that all the "cool" kids are wearing green t-shirts and I want to identify myself as a cool kid, I will go and buy a green t-shirt and wear it. Why would I do this? Because I have a belief. I have a faith that if I imitate those that I perceive as cool if I act like they act that maybe hopefully I will become one myself. So, I buy the shirt and I play the part. My identity is a cool kid. Then someone sees me with an uncool person who is wearing a brown shirt and labels me as uncool. My identity has been attacked! I adjust my behavior to not associate with that person to protect my identity. When I act like this I am allowing my identity to be defined by what others think. Now suppose I say to myself, I already know I'm cool and I don't have to wear a green shirt or imitate those supposedly "cool" kids to prove this to anyone. I will just be myself, because that is enough. Then my identity is grounded in my personal faith of who I believe I am, rather than in what someone else says I am. The problem is though, that sometimes its hard to really know if I am cool or if I just want to be and so am telling myself that I am. In other words how can I really know who I am and walk in it regardless of what others say about me. This is directly related to my faith. If my faith is grounded in myself then it isn't very strong. But if my faith is grounded in something bigger than myself it can be more sturdy. The Bible makes some awesome claims about who a person is when they become a Christian. When they leave their old selves to become a new creation in Christ they take on a new identity. The Bible tells us about our new identity. If we beleive this and act according to it and speak according to it an impressive thing begins to happen. We see benefits being reaped from our beliefs and actions. There is a passage that says "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." This is powerful and true. Our knowledge of the truth is what enables us to act according to it. If I believe a lie then I will act according to what the lie asserts and I am therefore in bondage to its deception. The Bible tells us of our enemy the devil. He is labeled as the deceiver and the father of lies. Deception is the enemy's most powerful tool and in a way his only tool. Every assault is grounded in it some way or another. I asked the question is it ever presumptious for me to ask God for something in prayer and expect him to do it? What happens if God doesn't do something I asked him for? I discovered our one and only task in life is to learn to believe God, period. When I pray for something I pray in belief of the promises I see given to me in the Bible. Whether or not I receive what I asked for should not affect whether or not I will beleive Him again, but rather I should have already resolved that I will believe him back when I first became a Christian, back when I first became aware that he loves me and wants the best for me and is trustworthy. When Abraham was promised a son he didn't see it happen. His belief that God was trustworthy did not change because he didn't see it happen. His belief in God's goodness wasn't grounded or proportional to his understanding of how God fulfilled his promises or answered his prayers, but rather he simply believed God regardless of what he saw happening around him. God finally gave him a son and then told him to sacrifice the son! Abraham didn't fully understand how this could make sense, but he tried to understand and resolve to believe God regardless of what he saw or was asked to do. In the end God proved faithful. Life is about learning to believe God and to believe who we are in Christ. Life is about coming to know our identity and freedom in Christ and walking in it.