Inside everyone is a need for security and significance. We cry out for identity so bad that our whole being depends on it. That's the way God created us because we were meant to have purpose and identity.
The truth we all abide by is that Jesus is our only true source of security and significance. Everything we do becomes an outflow of that. Many things can try to rob our identity in Christ. There's nothing wrong with these things, but they are just not good bases of identity because that's a role only God can play.
Here are 10 things that try to steal your identity.
1. Your Profession
What you do for a living is not your whole life. It is simply an expression of God's grace and a means of getting involved in His greater work. No matter what your job is, God affirms you as His worker and child.
2. Your Relationships
We were built for friendship, but we were never meant to be defined by it. When friendships become too much about defining us, we tend to milk people dry. God wants us to be on the giving end instead of the "milking" end.
3. Money and Wealth
Your net worth is not your overall worth. Your worth is determined by the price Christ was willing to pay for your eternal freedom, and He really put His money where His mouth was when He paid for your life with His.
4. Your Family Background
Many of us were not born with great family backgrounds. Our parents may have failed us, and our ancestors may have generational curses. But those do not define us and our destiny. We can break free from the baggage of the past.
5. Your Educational Attainment
It's not always about how much you know, but how much of it you live out. God gives us the ability to act in wisdom and diligence, and makes that passionate Spirit available to all.
6. Your Ministry
I've heard some people talk down at themselves because they came from a "small church" or a backstage ministry. No matter what you do ministry-wise, there are no spare parts. We are all part of one body where we play an integral role.
7. Your Social Views
It doesn't matter what political viewpoint you have. Our highest hope is not on man, but on God. Your social viewpoint does not define you because it is God that empowers us to love others.
8. Your Age
Don't let anyone look down at you just because you're young (or old!) God can and will use you in whatever season of life you are in today.
9. Your Physical Disabilities
There are some things that we are undesirably born in. Remember though that God made you beautifully and wonderfully. And in your weakness, Christ's strength can be magnified most.
10. Your Ethnicity
God is not racially limited. He desires for all people, tongues and tribes to worship Him and experience Him. We are not identified by the places where we are raised in, but in the eternal glory of a beautiful destination—God's kingdom.
