Mistaken Identity - The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge
Mistaken Identity
What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31
Children have a lot of dreams. Some want to be pro athletes, or Olympic gold medal winners, or famous singers or actors, or maybe great inventors or explorers. Some want to make lots of money, or live in big houses, or have more cars than they can drive at one time. They often have great dreams, but most of those dreams are related to doing, not being. They aren’t focused on who they should be on the inside—their values and priorities—even though those inner attributes affect everything else. Who they are will shape everything they do.
In our society, this struggle between being and doing starts early and is often innocently encouraged. We ask our children what they want to be when they grow up much more often than we ask them what kind of person they want to be. And when we say, “What do you want to be?” they know what we really mean: “What job do you want to have?” It’s a focus on what they do rather than who they are. And most will spend their lives identifying themselves by what they do.
I never heard Chuck Noll act as if his value as a person was lessened when we lost a game. He was the same person whether we were winning or losing because his self-esteem didn’t depend on what he accomplished. And when he retired from football, he didn’t lose his identity because his identity was based on something deeper than being a coach. His job didn’t define who he was.
That’s a great example. The most important thing about you is who you are, not what you do. You may think you’ll be satisfied when you accomplish your goals or fulfill the role you’ve dreamed about, but if you have an unsatisfied heart now, outward accomplishments won’t change a thing. Know who you are on the inside and what God has done to make you who you are. That’s where your identity comes from.
Uncommon Key > Who you are is not a vocational question. Your identity is defined by the God who made you, and it doesn’t change with circumstances. Remind yourself to not get so caught up in “doing” that you forget about “being.”
