Identity

We all have an identity. An internal description of ourselves that defines who we see ourselves as. It is a significant part of how we filter the world around us and understand it. It is how we evaluate our success or failure in life. It really is the foundation of our mental lives.

It is important that we understand what our identity is. It is important that we have established our identity in something that is reliable and safe. When you put your identity in something that is fickle and it breaks it brings your whole world crashing down around  you.

Here is an example.

She had put her identity in being a winning MMA fighter. When that was taken away she went so low as to even lose her desire to live. That is how foundational this can be. It can literally be a matter of life and death.

As a Christian I am trying to establish my identity as a son of G-d. He is unchanging and eternal. There is nothing that can force us apart. My identity as His son is eternally secure. I do not always succeed at embracing it and sometimes I allow other things to define me. But as much as I am able to stay focused on who I really am. As long as I remember how my relationship with G-d defines me I am more able to cope with life when things inevitably break down.