Id Check

CORE PRACTICE #8: Find your identity in Christ, not in the world.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! —2 Corinthians 5:17

Lauren

It’s fun now, these many years after Tony was dismissed from the Bucs’ head coaching job, to watch people’s reactions when our family goes out in public in Tampa. Our children are always mildly amused when they overhear someone whisper, “That’s Tony Dungy!” as we walk by. All of the children now know that Tony was once the head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the youngest boys don’t understand why complete strangers seem to know their dad. They don’t yet appreciate the visibility a head coach in the National Football League can have.

When we have a chance to talk with the people who stop to greet us, they seem to fondly remember our days with the Buccaneers. However, our younger children don’t understand that not everyone had a favorable impression of Tony during his tenure as the head football coach. The older children no doubt remember the boos rising up from the crowd when the team didn’t play well or meet expectations in any particular year.

Most Tampa football fans back then—and now—know Tony only as the Bucs’ coach. To them, that’s his identity. Other people may remember Tony as the head football coach with the Indianapolis Colts from 2002 through 2008. Still others may recognize him in his current role with NBC as studio color analyst along with Rodney Harrison, Dan Patrick, and so many other talented people on Football Night in America. Some may even know me as a spokesperson for iMom, as a volunteer who reads in schools for the Dungy Family Foundation, or as the woman who often speaks on adoptions. Those are our public “identities.”

But those roles are not where our true selves really lie. Identity might be defined as “the distinguishing character or personality of a person.”^a Our roles do not define who we are. That’s a lesson we try to teach our children as well. Those roles are certainly fun, and it’s a privilege to work with great people who have become dear friends, but they are not the essence of who we are.

Our entire family enjoyed the cheers that always came with a Buccaneers’ or Colts’ victory. The boos, on the other hand, were never pleasant to hear. But we weren’t swayed by them and didn’t make impulsive decisions because of them. Our identity, then and now, is found in Christ. Tony and I want to be known for making decisions that come out of our relationship with Him. That is why the applause or criticism from the world never guided our choices or direction. It still doesn’t.

Our relationship with Christ—His grace, loving correction, and guidance for every step we take and every fork in the road we encounter—is what shapes our identity. And it’s how we live in that relationship, and what we do with and for Him that counts, both now and eternally.

That’s what we try to share with our children, at some level, whenever the whispers or pointing fingers come from the outside.

Adventure Application: If you polled your neighbors, friends, and coworkers, what do you think they’d say you’re known for—your immaculate yard, your sports-crazy kids, your jobs, or your roles at church? How likely is it that they would ID you as a Christ follower?