This is for my own benefit and is one of my goals for this year, but if you can benefit from it, well hey. This is also an ongoing effort, so if it seems like I ended abruptly, I probably did.

Introduction
The concept of identity is an interest of mine. When I think of the word ‘identity’, two images come to my mind. One is of Agent Bristow putting on a purple wig, an ‘alias’, if you will, and going to a rave to kick Russian mafia in the nose. (This is my wife’s favorite show?) The other image is of a credit card. When I hear ‘identity’, I think identity theft. Now this little article will not be about how to avoid identity theft (choose passwords longer than 8 characters that involve random numbers in them and be careful what you tell phone solicitors. Just because they called you doesn’t mean they’re official). The type of identity theft that I’m talking about doesn’t necessarily involve money, but it easily could. I’m talking about a theft that you bring about yourself.

Granted, our culture has a lot to say about identity. It offers many options for where to find your identity. I am writing this from the ‘25-35 years-old’ bracket, but you may find some similarities if you don’t fall within that age range.

One major way that I see our culture impacting identity is in the whole happiness/joy category. I’m not an expert but instead a fellow runner. (Philippians 3:13 and all that.) Maybe the professors are right, that this is the influence of a post-Vietnam world. We have been betrayed or somesuch. The government has let us down. The 50s are gone, along with the Fonz jumping the shark. (Here is where I weep bitterly.)

I think we’re too smart to have joy.

2
Or at least we think we’re too smart. At least I see this in myself. When I think of someone who has true joy, I know that deep down I believe that they’re naive. They’re Pollyannas (would the masculine be Pollyannos?). We who are not happy with our circumstances, we’re too smart for that. We know what’s really going on; we know the details. We’re living in a fallen world and we just need to stick it out, fight the good fight, until we’re dead.
We see dissatisfaction everywhere. It’s almost like a new gospel for my age bracket. As a proof, consider this: What would happen if a rock band came out with a new track with these lyrics?

This is just one moment of my life
I know it’s just a season
I can’t control my circumstances
But I can influence how I react to them
In fact, I may be overreacting
Health and wealth are fleeting
Even love sometimes leaves
So I need to find meaning in something that lasts
And I think it’s my fault I’m not satisfied

It might work (an angst-ridden rock band working through their issues, realizing that you can’t blame eveything on society, parents, and capitalism and that some parts might actually be their own fault), but where does it go from there? We need rational answers. We need proof. We need to see sources cited, research done, credibility checked. ‘Someone’ is trying to pull the wool over my eyes. I won’t let it happen.

3
When we live a life where things are constantly questioned, where we think we know what’s going on and we don’t like it, it becomes a habit. Here’s an example from my life just recently. I went to Bookman’s to trade in a game that a co-worker had given me. I got $5 credit. I said, “Hey! Now I can buy that Star Wars book that was in mending at the library for an undetermined time.” So I found the book. It was $3.50. I didn’t want to have only $1.50 in credit (when would I be back?) so I picked up the book that followed in the series. A grand total of $7. I would be okay paying $2 out of my own pocket for two Star Wars books. When I went to the check-out, the worker rang it up. He said, “Let’s see how I can help you today. Oop! I guess I don’t!” The display on the cash register said ‘Bookman’s Winner of the Day’ in flashing green LED. He told me that the books were on the house. I got the $5 credit back and got the books totally free. It’s like I walked up and said, “I want this.” and they said, “Okay.” and then I could walk out the door.
But, because I’ve become accustomed to questioning things (some may call it cynicism), I began to question his motives. Surely I’m too smart to fall for a marketing ploy. Does he think this will make me come back to the store? Why me? Was this a random selection by the computer, or did he choose it? Let me know the inner-workings of the cash register at Bookman’s. (Because I have a right to know, right?)
On top of all this, I was cursing myself. Why didn’t I pick up a third book? Why didn’t I pick up a Playstation game, as well? I was foolish.
Imagine. My gut reaction could have been, “Hey! I just got free books.” Instead, I was dissatisfied. I was wishing for more. If only I had been more cunning, more strategic, more crafty, I could have gotten more.
It was then that an idea solidified. I put a lot of value in my intelligence. I pride myself on being able to figure things out, to be in the know. I find my identity in rising above the masses. (Some days I feel even super-human.)(And yes, I know that’s bad.)
But does this identity that I’ve constructed for myself leave me with peace? With joy? Even happiness? Was I happy at getting free books? I left that store uneasy, kind of melancholy. It wasn’t until I could brag to my brother-in-law or to my wife about winning that I started to feel happy. I won because I’m me. (Granted, part of the fun of free stuff is a shared experience, but mainly the focus is on me and my stuff. And me.)

4
The Bible is full of people with identity issues. Imagine being named ‘Heel-grabber’. From birth you’ve always been crafty. Names are big. God realizes how important identity is. Jacob is transformed into Israel. But does a new name change behavior, or are roses still smelling by different names? Wild at Heart by John Eldredge talks about the importance of identity. Like any good ‘guy book’ of the time period, he makes a reference to The Matrix. He says that the greatest attack the Agents do to Neo is to refuse to call him by his new name but to constantly call him Mr. Anderson. It’s like they’re telling him that he’s not the hero, he’s still the desk job programmer living a dulled, controlled life. (The Matrix…meh, I liked the first one. Wild at Heart? A definite must-read. Deeply influenced some of my thoughts and actions.)
It’s also like Les Mis. (I reference the musical but I am reading through the book.) Javert keeps trying to call ValJean 24601. Giving him a number makes him less of a human and Javert can be more of a servant to the Law. The song “Who am I?” takes on different meanings throughout the musical, like when ValJean steps out from behind his alias of Lumiere and defends the man who was caught up in mistaken identity. ValJean asks how he can face his fellow man if he lets an innocent person take on his punishment. ValJean must also balance out the responsibility he has to the workers in his factory. Awesome depiction of tough choices and deciding who to live as. (I also like how the word ‘martyrs’ is used. In the middle of the play it’s talking about people remembering the current characters’ actions towards a freer France. But I like it even more when Bishop Bienvenue tells ValJean that his soul has been bought for God and that the martyrs stand witness throughout his life.)

The issue of identity is crucial to our very existence. When we get a firmer grasp on our identity, some interesting things will start clicking.

5 -
Coming to the end of “Blue Like Jazz” by Don Miller, I have some new insights into identity. I had read the book because I thought that it would help me to separate what is me versus what is my culture (which it does), but it also helped me to see some Christian bad habits that formed. For instance: Republicans are Christian, Democrats are not. Clean-shaven people are easily loved, unkempt ones are not. (This is especially ridiculous when you catch a glimpse of where my picture stands on the continuum.) These are not conscious decisions, necessarily, but gut reactions.
Another bad habit that I fall into and I know guys in our fellowship in college fell into is letting the girl name you. What I mean by this is that we judge our worth and value by the actions and words of who we’re in a relationship. There are a couple of dangers to this addiction. One is that we can’t read minds or see into hearts, so there will always be a droplet of doubt. This addiction makes you want more, like drinking salt water while lost at sea. It is a wholly unsatisfying drought.
I say “fall into” in the current tense because it is a tightrope sometimes between looking to see how my wife describes me versus being how Christ describes and models a good husband (throughout the Bible, but especially in his love for the church). It truly tests whether I believe that what he says is true. If I really trust that he knows what it takes to be a good husband, then it should follow that my wife as a believer will see that as well.
It is my belief that you cannot truly follow part of the greatest commandment, love your neighbor as yourself, if you do not know your true identity. If you cannot love who God made you to be (notice the difference between serving yourself, with all of your motivation revolving around you), then how can you love someone else comparatively to how you love yourself. (Because, frankly, with all of the negative thoughts that bounce around inside of my brain all day, if I talked to someone else the way I talk to myself, I’d get kicked in the jaw.)
So what does the God say in the Bible about identity and love?
(The following is going to be in a study fashion that my small group or another small group could use. It can also be used for individual study. If you don’t want to read these selections and questions, go google your name. It won’t be as satisfying, but at least you’ll see if there’s any incriminating photos or if someone’s stalking you.)

____
John 13: 27 – John 14: 8
In John 13:29, what’s the assumption the disciples make? Who did they make the assumption about? By the fact that some of the disciples made this assumption, how does this describe how Jesus treats all the disciples?
Which people does Jesus call out in John 13?

Genesis 38
What are some of the family issues going on in Judah’s family?
What was Er known for? What is Onan remembered through history for?
What’s the connection between Judah and Tamar?
How does identity factor into verse 15 of Genesis 38? Why does Judah want the girl/woman’s identity hidden later on in the chapter? What happens when people are called out?
What did Judah trade in his identity for?
Where’s the love?

John 18
Why do you think Jesus asks his question in verse 4?
What happens when Jesus confirms his identity in verse 5? Check verse 8.
How does this apply to us, especially when we face opposition? Check Matthew 10:24-25.
In John 18, Peter reacts (whether courageously or not). What happens when he tries to mess with “the cup”? How could this have ended? Who does Jesus love in this chapter? How is John 18:9 a comfort?
Who is Peter hanging out with in John 18:18?

Birthright
This is not to be confused with Needham‘s book. It looks really cool and I know that I will read it someday.

The whole concept of a birthright is integral to understanding who we are in Christ. It’s funny because we are slaves and yet adopted. We are to be approved workers and yet when you are adopted, the parent specifically chooses you. We are new creations and yet old habits still linger.
Here are some people with some interesting birthright stories/issues:

(This will be a growing list as I find more and people comment.)

• Jacob
• Esau
• Manasseh – Genesis 48:15-20
• Ephraim
• Reuben – 1 Chronicles 5:1-2
• Adonijah – 1 Kings 2:13
• Shimri, son of Hosah the Merarite – 1 Chronicles 26:10

Looking at birthright is important because you are not in control of obtaining it; it is bestowed when you emerge as a new creation.

For a start, what are the perks of the birthright?

Deuteronomy 21:15-17
(Deuteronomy’s always interesting to work with because there are rules applied to people with two wives and stuff.)

When a man has two wives, one loved and the other hated, and they both give him sons, but the firstborn is from the hated wife, at the time he divides the inheritance with his sons he must not treat the son of the loved wife as the firstborn, cutting out the son of the hated wife, who is the actual firstborn. No, he must acknowledge the inheritance rights of the real firstborn, the son of the hated wife, by giving him a double share of the inheritance: that son is the first proof of his virility; the rights of the firstborn belong to him.

So in spite of human sin, with hatred for wife and all that blech-ness, God still provides for the downtrodden. Because you were created as the first heir, no matter how much your Earth father loves you or not, you still get double the inheritance. If that’s how it rolls on Earth, imagine how much more with a Father who loves you?

Matthew 7:9-11

9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

I always chuckle when I read this. I picture a two year-old asking for bread and then the dad handing over a stone. “Chew on that, kiddo.” This has got to be an important concept, this thought that God knows the difference between giving stones and giving bread. It’s put between the Golden Rule (do to others like you would want people to treat you) and “Knock and the door will be opened to you.”

We’ve gotta keep knocking, especially as adopted sons and daughters. He knows what is good. He wants us to know what is good and use that when interacting with others.

(Man, this is a good chapter of Matthew. This also has in it building on rock, not sand.)

Thankfully, though, the metaphor breaks down with the Old Testament birthrights. We don’t forfeit our birthrights, right?

Hebrews 4 should help.