12. The world says, “You are what you do” but I believe my identity is found in my relationship to Jesus.
(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)
WHO WOULD YOU BE IF YOU LOST YOUR JOB OR BECAME UNABLE TO WORK?
HOW DOES GOD’S RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU FREE YOU TO BE “YOU”?
WHAT RELATIONAL TERM WOULD JESUS CALL YOU? FRIEND, COMPANION, PARTNER…?
Our vocations can be a big part of who we are, how we spend our time, how we earn a living, and the people we spend much of our day with. Our work requires our energy and attention and is usually an aspect of our lives that we place a high value on. Because it is such an important part of our lives, we, aided by our culture, may choose to define ourselves by our work. And, with our culture, we may tend to value ourselves and others by the work that is done.
Eventually, we come to see ourselves--our identity—by what we do. But who we are is so much more than what we do. We are created as unique, “fearfully and wonderfully made” as the Psalmist says, and in the image of God, as recorded in Genesis. We have personalities, gifts and abilities, and a relational potential that make us much more than what our jobs or vocations require of us.
Holding an accurate view of our identity is an important issue in our human development and in experiencing abundance in our lives. It is unfortunate when we surrender our identity to something defined by our job or vocation. But we are not completely at fault in this because, often, it is the system we participate in that attempts to define us.
When we participate in organizations, the system tells us who we are: doctor, lawyer, teacher, construction worker, stay-at-home Mom/Dad, and so on. Our culture also tells us which of these identities are more significant and assigns value to each identity.
But there are other systems, not organizational but relational such as families, clubs, small groups, and sometimes church. In a relational system our identity is defined by our connection to others in the system: father, mother, sister, daughter, grandmother, friend, encourager, confidant, and so on. God has created a relational system, called his Kingdom, and he invites us to participate in this relational system as dearly loved children.
As valued participants of God’s family, he gives us an identity that is so much more valuable, significant, and worthy than any identity our organizations might give us. He calls us his children, even his friends. How much better to imagine ourselves as a friend of the Creator of the universe, rather than a mail carrier, plumber, entrepreneur, etc. Our challenge then is to train ourselves to listen to the voice of our Creator rather than the voice of our culture.