– by Eddie Capparucci

 

Where do you get your identity?

 

Is it your job?

Is it the college you went to?

Is it your status in the community or church?

 

Or is it something from your past. Maybe it’s an abusive experience that you replay in your mind again and again. These tragic memories never seem to fade away, but instead continue to haunt you until they become part of your internal fabric that you wear every day.

 

Or perhaps it’s a series of lies you have come to believe that are part of your identity. Lies such as:

“I’m not that smart.”

“I’m not attractive.”

“I am unlovable.”

“I am worthless.”

“People never like me.”

 

The mistruths we tell ourselves are numerous and we carry them around like ID cards. These are identities that are filled with hurt, pain and shame. (Image via Pixabay)

 

Matthew West has a song called “My Name Is” in which he captures the essence of these lies. Here are a few of the lyrics:

 

“Hello, my name is defeat

I know you recognize me

Just when you think you can win

I’ll drag you right back down again

Until you’ve lost all belief”

 

It is not uncommon for people to build an identity rooted in lies, which they believe are based in truth. With this poor sense of self, people experience self-hate and feelings of worthlessness. This in turn leads to destructive behaviors and the development of unhealthy relationships.

 

It is all part of Satan’s game plan to crush our spirits and take our focus off the abundant life that God promises us.

 

But we don’t have to play into Satan’s hands. We can correct our erroneous beliefs and develop an accurate and genuine assessment of our true self.

 

To do this, we have to begin by understanding God’s assessment of our worth.

What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to.

But friends, that’s exactly who we are: children of God. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him—and in seeing him, become like him. All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own.

1 John 3:1-3 (The Message)

 

As children of God we have been forgiven, redeemed, accepted, loved, called, given hope and made pure again. You see, the truth is we are all children of a King. That is the foundation of our true identity.

 

Take time to do some self-reflection by examining the current source of your identity and work to make the adjustments needed to align it with the one true King.

 

And I encourage you to listen to this song by Matthew West as he shares your true identity.

 

 

This guest post was written by Eddie Capparucci.

Eddie is the author of Removing Your Shame Label.