All Weekly Sharpening Posts

April 14, 2022

Five Lies of Identity (Part 2)

In case you missed last week’s post, the “Five Lies of Identity,” according to Henri Nowen are:

I am what I have.

I am what I do.

I am what other people say or think about me.

I am nothing more than my worst moment.

I am nothing less than my best moment.

“We are not what we do, we are not what we have, we are not what others think of us.  Coming home is claiming the truth.  I am the beloved child of a loving Creator.” 

All men are susceptible to these lies, and they rob us of our God-given identities as beloved children of a loving Creator. They are easy traps to fall into and can feed our egos in unhealthy ways.

A few men responded to my question, “Which lie(s) do you most often believe?” Maybe you can identify with the following two examples.  I like how these men recognize their faulty thinking and look to the Scriptures to remind them what is true and most important.

We all must do the same.

 #1: The lies I believe: I am what I do.  I am what I have. 

I recently told a few good friends that, at age 45, I feel that I’ve greatly under-achieved.  Why doesn’t the title on my business card read like somebody who’s important and really well paid?  Why doesn’t the street I live on or the house I live in reflect the way in which I want to be seen by other men?

These are the lies I tell myself.

The truth is that I’m incredibly blessed to have a job that both provides for my family and gives me flexibility to do what’s most important.  The truth is that I live in a house that we can afford, that my wife and I have poured sweat equity into for nearly 20 years, and that our children love coming home to.

Most importantly, the truth is that my contentment can and should be rooted in a God who, because of Christ, says that I am his and that he will never leave nor forsake me (Heb. 13:5).

#2: The lies I believe: I am what I do.  I am what others think of me.

Over the last five years, I’ve been specializing in a very specific area for my work in law enforcement. Now my expertise is being recognized nationally.  As a result, I get a lot of praise from people across the country.

It’s difficult not to let my work performance overtake my true identity.

This is why I admire David so much in the early days of his God-given success.  He had a crazy focus on serving God, and not letting the songs and praises of people go to his head and change his identity.  He saw himself as a servant of the Most High God.

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