Your identity is everything. What you believe about who you are determines how you will behave. For example, if you believe that you are a successful person, you will have a more confident posture and walk compared to a person with low self-esteem.
One of the most important things for a person to know is his identity. As a matter of fact, a whole movie sequel entitled “Bourne Identity” was made about this. A man named Jason Bourne had amnesia and he didn’t remember who he was. The story revolved around him trying to figure out his real identity.
How Do You Define Your Identity
If you’re a Christian, you will notice that the way the world determines your identity sharply contrast the way the Bible does. Many people today find their identity through accumulation wealth and materials possessions. Some are also tempted to base their identity not only in what they have but also in the work they do.
According to the world system, a person’s identity is tied to what they do for a living or how much they have in their bank account. Success or a failure is a matter of what you can observe on the outward appearance. Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
God wants people to have abundant and prosperous lives. He wants us to bless his children. This “identity issue” is a critical part of living the abundant life.When you believe Christ and start following him, you become entirely new person. Your identity gets changed.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17
The Three Lies of Riches
The Bible doesn’t talk about wealth many times but when it does, it’s not always referred to as a positive thing. You will notice that it seems to show wealth more as a danger than as one of God’s blessings.
In the parable of the sower (Mark 4:19), Jesus described the seed sown among thorns like people who were unfruitful because the deceitfulness of riches and their desire for other things choked their faith.
We’re now living in a day in which people have become lovers of self and our society has become self-centred. Here are the deceptions of riches that has spread in today’s culture.
1. Your wealth and possessions define who you are.
Even if what we have is the result of our hard work, that hard work itself is a gift of God. In Deuteronomy 8:18b, we read that the Lord our God is the one who gives us the ability to create wealth so who we are does not depend on what we own. Our status does not depend on our income.
2. You must have money to be happy.
People think if I only had this or that, then I would be happy. While it’s true that having more money would lead to some happiness, the problem is that when you desire more, that desire itself changes you. When you accumulate more things, you won’t be content with what you have, but would like to have more.
Ecclesiastes 5:10 is so accurate in saying that “whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.”
3. Money can bring you security.
The world guarantees that you can be secure in life when you have sufficient financial resources.There’s no problem spending money in paying insurances but it’s not wise to put your faith and trust in them.
The Bible says that, “Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.”— Proverbs 11:28.
Proverbs 23:5 says, “Cast but a glance at riches and they are gone. For they will certainly sprout wings and fly off like an eagle.”
Your money can disappear, and you can spend a lot time and energy worrying and trying to make sure that they don’t. In the parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:15-21), we learn that the Lord called the rich man a fool because he wrapped his self-image in the abundance of his possessions.That’s one of the reasons why money can never be our security.
Put Money and Wealth in its Proper Place
We must be careful in the way we see and handle money. A strong warning comes from 1 Timothy 6:9-10.
9But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Enjoying the things that money can buy is not necessarily wrong. Rich believers can honour Christ by living a humble, generous, and godly life. On the other hand, poor Christians can honour him by being contented, faithful, and godly.
One of the greatest teachings of the Apostle Paul is about contentment. Paul’s idea is that God knows our financial situation and whatever he wants us to do, he will provide us with the resources to accomplish it. Happiness does not come from building up your bank account, true joy comes from doing the will of God instead.
Find Your Identity in Christ
Start evaluating yourself through the lense of Scripture because without a biblical concept of your true identity, you run the risk of ending up a proud and self-centred person or a person with low self-esteem. Recognise who you are in Christ alone, in whom your identity is hidden.
Start believing what God says about you, that he is pleased with how he created you, and that God defines you. Our self-image should come only from what God has said about us and what God has done for us.
From there, you must seek to glorify Christ in the gifts and talents he has entrusted to you. Remember that everything in this life is temporary. Eventually, our money will fade. We cannot place our security in worldly wealth. Therefore, make sure you’re right with God and right with money in relation to God.
