Fighting for Yourself

For years, my identity was self-defined.

I defined myself by my work, my money, my status… and privately, I defined myself by my sexuality.

Much of my life and focus was spent on those things and, thusly, trying to control how others perceived me.

But I know now.

I know now that a career and money can disappear in an instant.

I know now that status is equally as fleeting, a revolving door of other people’s perceptions.

And, as a person who experienced so much confusion over my sexuality, I know now that I cannot even base my identity in feelings, but must rely on Truth.

I came crashing into the fact that an identity based on factors that can change in an instant will always risk being challenged or picked apart, and that I had built myself upon a foundation which could only lead to an insecure identity. 

It is these exact kind of self-defined identities that have led to the astonishing levels of insecurity in our culture today

It’s not enough to tear down the identities we have spent so long constructing. We have to replace them with something, something that will be unchanging and unwavering, and therefore at less risk of being challenged to the point of becoming insecure. We are in desperate need of a secure identity, a constant anchor in a world that is challenging to navigate. We need an identity based in the only unchanging thing in existence, God.

We must come to realize whatever it is we consider to be the central part of our identity will become the central part of our life. No exceptions.

Identity sets the trajectory of your life, work, purpose, and relationships. Identity reveals the point from which your life radiates, while at the same time points to the direction in which your life is also headed. Further, it serves as an acknowledgement of what you consider to be the most important part of you. A look at your identity will be the most truthful insight into where your heart lies and what is central to your life. It will reveal what you value most and most consistently worship with your time and energy.

The weird part about identity is that there are layers to it. We are all more than one thing – being multi-dimensional and having several factors that apply if a description is being given. I think that much of our resistance to allowing God to set our identity is fear that doing so means denying our layers.

We resist God’s stripping down of all the things we claim as “our identities,” in order to preserve our perceived control over ourselves. Yet, in trying to hold on to what we think is defining, we inevitably lose our grip on the one anchor strong enough to hold us together.

When it comes to identity, many of us have arranged our priorities backwards.

Claiming an identity centered in Christ is not a denial of all the things that we, humans in today’s culture, find paramount to our self-defined identities. It is quite the opposite. It is a full realization of the truth of each of those things and their presence in our lives in light of the foundational truth of who God defines us to be as His children living in service to the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, claiming an identity centered in God is essential to each of us being elevated to the highest potential in our lives here on this earth – the potential defined by God and set into action by His will, urging a heart revolving around the center point of an identity rooted in Christ alone.

As you can see, and as we probably all knew already, the topic of identity is complex and challenging. So, as leaders, it is essential that we elevate the conversation regarding identity.

As leaders, we must first work to re-center our own identities in Christ. Then we must urge those we lead to work toward the same re-centering of an identity in Christ alone.

Write down a list of the areas you might be wrongly rooting your identity in. This may not be easy, but by calling these things out by name we can begin to fill those spaces with truth.

Next to each item write a short prayer asking the Father to help you see these talents, platforms, gifts as ways to serve His Church.

Next make a list of the people you have in your life to help hold you accountable to your true identity. Remember to thank them often and continue to trust them. As leaders we have to be willing to let others confront us in love.

Fighting for your Identity is an ongoing battle, but it is crucial to us as followers of Jesus, and especially as leaders. It is paramount that we start each day remembering who we are as sons and daughters before we set out to accomplish anything.