Who Are You?
When facebook changed their format a couple years back, they added a new box that asked its users to "describe who you are." I left it blank for a really long time. I could think of many ways to describe myself, but I never had to officially determine "my description" before.
Many of us identify by our roles at work, our roles at home, our academic accomplishments, our ethnicity, our country, our passions, and our faith. When I'm in the academic world, I typically identify myself by my academic accomplishments. When I'm at home, I'm a mother and wife. When I'm in the workforce, I'll use my job title. When I'm at the bank, monetary possessions and credit score reign supreme. But how would I identify myself to someone who comes across my facebook page? How should I rank my descriptions? Even more important, what is the essence of who I am?
I had to ask myself some really important questions regarding what was truly most important in my life. The Bible says in Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." That doesn't mean different ethnicities don't exist nor that men and women are the same gender. Instead, it means that in the body of Christ, we are all children of God. We are all on the same level. No single description usurps another. And yet, I know in my heart, I still like to use some of my descriptions to try to usurp others.
Short story: One day, I was meeting some of my husband's friends. One of them thought very highly of themselves and when this person asked me what I did for a living, I explained that I was not working full time at the moment and that I had just taking a break from my PhD program in the math department so that I could stay home and teach my children. The person arrogantly replied, "Oh, it was too hard for you?" and then proceeded to try to engage me in a math conversation at a pre-Calc level. Furry (though ungodly) rose up inside me. My initial desire was to make the conceited individual look stupid. But, I decided to keep my mouth shut and breathe and remind myself that I don't primarily identify with my intelligence, my gender, my role at home, or my accomplishments. Though I had chosen to go that route in the beginning, I had to make a quick course correction. You see, all of those other identities will fade away. One day my role as a mother and wife will end. My intelligence will fade away. In heaven my gender and my ethnicity won't matter. So, what is everlasting?
Considering and struggling with my internal identity one day, I wrote this:
Paul was a tent maker. Luke was a physician. 4 disciples were fisherman. Matthew was a tax collector. And yet, their careers mattered very little in the history of the world. (In fact, I had to look up how many disciples were fishermen.) These people aren't defined by their jobs or even remembered because of them. Instead we know them because of their devotion to Christ.
As I consider how much time I think about my career or pursue my education, I wonder if my life will be marked by my career and accomplishments or my devotion to Christ. How will I be remembered? How is my life defined?
I want to be good at all I do, but first and foremost, I want my life to be marked by Christ. I identify as a Christian above all else.
Many of us identify by our roles at work, our roles at home, our academic accomplishments, our ethnicity, our country, our passions, and our faith. When I'm in the academic world, I typically identify myself by my academic accomplishments. When I'm at home, I'm a mother and wife. When I'm in the workforce, I'll use my job title. When I'm at the bank, monetary possessions and credit score reign supreme. But how would I identify myself to someone who comes across my facebook page? How should I rank my descriptions? Even more important, what is the essence of who I am?I had to ask myself some really important questions regarding what was truly most important in my life. The Bible says in Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." That doesn't mean different ethnicities don't exist nor that men and women are the same gender. Instead, it means that in the body of Christ, we are all children of God. We are all on the same level. No single description usurps another. And yet, I know in my heart, I still like to use some of my descriptions to try to usurp others.
Short story: One day, I was meeting some of my husband's friends. One of them thought very highly of themselves and when this person asked me what I did for a living, I explained that I was not working full time at the moment and that I had just taking a break from my PhD program in the math department so that I could stay home and teach my children. The person arrogantly replied, "Oh, it was too hard for you?" and then proceeded to try to engage me in a math conversation at a pre-Calc level. Furry (though ungodly) rose up inside me. My initial desire was to make the conceited individual look stupid. But, I decided to keep my mouth shut and breathe and remind myself that I don't primarily identify with my intelligence, my gender, my role at home, or my accomplishments. Though I had chosen to go that route in the beginning, I had to make a quick course correction. You see, all of those other identities will fade away. One day my role as a mother and wife will end. My intelligence will fade away. In heaven my gender and my ethnicity won't matter. So, what is everlasting?
Considering and struggling with my internal identity one day, I wrote this:
Paul was a tent maker. Luke was a physician. 4 disciples were fisherman. Matthew was a tax collector. And yet, their careers mattered very little in the history of the world. (In fact, I had to look up how many disciples were fishermen.) These people aren't defined by their jobs or even remembered because of them. Instead we know them because of their devotion to Christ.
As I consider how much time I think about my career or pursue my education, I wonder if my life will be marked by my career and accomplishments or my devotion to Christ. How will I be remembered? How is my life defined?
I want to be good at all I do, but first and foremost, I want my life to be marked by Christ. I identify as a Christian above all else.
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