Yesterday, Rhonda and I had an interesting little discussion with Garin, our seven year old. Rhonda asked her how she would describe herself, her friends, her family, etc.. Now, I am turning my attention to you...
If someone asked you to describe yourself, what phrases and adjectives would you use to identify yourself?
When describing people you meet, what are the points of identification that you find yourself coming back to time and again?
Do you think it is wrong to identify people this way? Do you think all "Christians" should be identified solely by their relationship with God? "Hi, this is John and he's a Christ-follower?"
Are there healthy identifiers for us as adults and our kids as they are growing up?
Just some more questions and thoughts as I move closer to Sunday's teaching...
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2 comments:
I think there are two layers when thinking about a person’s “identity”. When talking about an identity in the light of the discussion you had with your child on descriptions, etc., you are at one layer. This layer can be thought of in social terms. My identity, for instance, can give you context for my life in relationship with others. In other words, how do others differentiate me from other people. Some examples of this layer for myself are: I’m a redhead; I’m an American, I’m a Texan living in Missouri, I’m a wife; I’m a mother; I’m an employee of ABC Labs; I’m a member of Woodcrest Chapel; I’m a friend; I’m a sister; I’m a TV watcher; I’m a book reader; I’m a writer….etc. Making these identifications is neither good nor bad. It is simply how we identify each other.
There is a deeper layer on the issue of identity that I think you are talking about in the description of your talk this weekend. This identity is important in how we see ourselves not compared to others, but compared to God. This, at its core, is really part of our world view. This has to do with how we see ourselves (and perhaps humanity in general) in light of our intrinsic value. Do I matter to the world? Do I matter to God? Am I redeemable? Is my worth and value determined by my actions or by something outside of myself?
What tends to happen is that people automatically understand the social layer of their identity; but understanding of the deeper layer is rarely ever discovered by accident. So, people think of their “social” identity as the only identity that matters. Their blindness to the deeper layer of who they are can be a hindrance to deeper connections to God.
After processing this, I think I’m talking about a "social" identity and a "spiritual" identity. Both are true and part of a person. But in terms of spiritual growth and formation, understanding and embracing your spiritual identity is critical.
Great thoughts Carrie. Are you going to be in League City this weekend? I'll sit and listen to you! ;-)
Allow me to push back a little here...how do you separate out the "social" from the "spiritual." Isn't it all spiritual and it makes us who we are? A "wholistic" look at our identity pushes us to see all as important pieces that make us whole. I totally agree that there are two types of identity, though.
My phrase right now is "External identifiers define who I am to others, but must never define who I am to me." When others look at me, they cannot see the internal identifiers. My problem comes when I start letting the external identifiers define me to me. Then when my job sucks, I suck. When my friends are cool, I am cool.
Thanks for posting and I like the discussion! Tell Brad hi and that Mitch and I were talking about him last night.
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