Identity Matters

 “Just be true to yourself.” “Find your authentic self.” Why do people obsess over “self-expression”? The now deceased thought leader Tim Kellar wrote, “The modern self is exceptionally fragile. You and you alone must create and sustain your identity. This has contributed to unprecedented levels of depression and anxiety.” The Imposter Syndrome is an identity malfunction people point to as a source of stress and dissatisfaction. So, what is it about identity that matters?  

First, identity is the comprehensive, existential sense of self.  Everyone must trust some label in their quest to answer the question, “who am I?” But labels separate us. Oppressed vs oppressor fuels protests. The top 1% is a tax target. Self-concept, which is the functional identity, is the complex set of factors like self-esteem and biases that determine how you see yourself and understand others. Your identity is what you trust for your feelings, thoughts and choices. People struggle with stress and mental health but don’t see identity as the problem. Social experiments to elevate people by diverse identities fail to produce DEI. People want unity, love and peace but never grasp how the diversity of identity divides. 

So, why does it? Think about it, ever said, “they deserve it” or “it’s not fair.” Identity drives perception. Identity judges. To gain power and feel important, people use justice to weaponize racism, sexual orientation, wealth and poverty, education, success, status, and nationality. How common is “the cancel culture” and “identity politics”? Antisemitism and Islamophobia are threatening the survival of institutions. While people desire to be different, there is ONE thing in common with each of us regardless of identity. Know what it is? An obsession with justice. Without ever thinking about it, you rely on a fair exchange that fits your identity. People depend on transactions for their happiness, acceptance and belonging. Fairness is subjective, it depends on the identity you trust. People view something as right or wrong depending on whether they perceive it’s fair or not. This is so natural we never think about it. It is your bias called social exchange. All relationships are held together by the perceived value that passes between them. Love is transactional. This is a semester worth of discussion. The world uses identity and justice to create chaos, confusion, and power struggles that keep people divided. People say they want UNITY but find it FUTILE. When people order their lives with an identity in this world essentially, they are “trying to swim better in the wrong pool.”

Put a pin here and let’s go a different direction. I identify as a Christian. I desire God’s view of identity. Guess what, the Bible is full of God’s idea of “self.” Since identity is important, it is no wonder it is a central theme of Scripture.  Being “hidden in Christ” is what God wants me to know about myself. Jesus’ teaching on the vine and the branches and Paul’s teaching on the body point to ONE identity that results in unity, not futility. Paul says, in Christ there are neither male nor female, slave or free, Jew or gentile. No matter how much the world desires unity, there is no unity to be had except for the one found in Christ. Let’s keep moving.

The cross is God’s action of grace and mercy that removes the control fair exchange has over the soul. The invitation to repentance is a call to trust a totally different identity, a total about face in how you think, feel and choose what’s right and what is hope. The “good news” cancels the bias for transactions that is built into the very nature of all humans. God is the ONLY judge. LOVE is never transactional, balanced, or fair. God offers, free of charge, satisfaction and acceptance. The privileges and provisions of His Kingdom are willfully and generously given to all who take on (trust) the identity of His Son.   

So, I leave you with this one question. Is your identity embedded in Christ or are you trusting some worldly label? Every person, including everyone in this room tonight, trusts something or someone for their identity. I have always been good at figuring out life according to the world’s standard. In my power I trusted my own quest for truth, universal principles I could rationalize from what I observed. Like people I met, I always had doubt if I know that I know that I know. Basically, I trusted in myself to transact fairly, economically, politically and relationally for a full and happy life. I failed miserably. I found this to be futile. I realized that I was trying to swim better in the wrong pool. Is this you, too? Have you thought, “Is there a better way”? So, think, which is more likely – unity will come from a diverse set of “self expression” trusting their own power to come together as one or a diverse expressions of self powered by a trust in ONE identity? You have the opportunity to bring a different kind of hope to people you know who are trying to swim better in the wrong pool.