Identity

As my first blog I feel I need to start with a topic that is central to a great deal of what I believe. Much of everything else that I will write about will deal in some way with identity. How we view ourselves is crucial to the way we live, the expectations that we place on ourselves, and even the way that we process our ideas and thoughts.

If I was to ask you, “Who are you?” what would be your response? Most people would immediately tell me about what they do. “I’m a teacher”, “I’m a carpenter”, “I’m a student”. This however is what you do, not who you are. Many people have the false assumption that what they do makes them who they are. They have it backwards. It’s not what you do that makes you who you are, but who you are that will determine what you do. I attribute this error in thinking to the ability of being able to see what people do, but not who they are.

I can’t see into someone’s heart or soul to see who the person is. So I form that person’s identity based on what they do. To me, I base who they are from what they do. It would be easy to catch someone in a lie and instantly label them a liar. Think about this in regards to yourself. Most people would consider themselves to be honest people, but ask that so called honest person if they have ever told a lie. If we are what we do then I think we would all have to admit that we are all liars. That’s not what the bible has to say about our identity though. Our identity is not based on what we do.