I didn’t say “What are you?”
How many times have I had the honor of working alongside great men who not only had pride in their ethic, but did the job well? How many times have I had the privilege of serving under leaders who knew the job, have been doing it for an admirable amount of time, and who took care of their people?
Often enough. And yet that is exactly who these men are. Their jobs. Their careers. They have been lured into the typical “Corporate Competition”, that ladder that they have since been compelled to climb for the rest of their lives; despising those above, and forsaking those below. I have seen men give their lives for these jobs, and maybe an afternoon, maybe, to their families. I have seen fathers feel the need to remain at work for the sake of face rather than support their 9-year old daughter at her choir concert. I have seen mothers bend over backwards for those at her job, and yet do it through flirting and manipulation while depriving her family of her love and attention.
Who are you? What is it that you define yourself by? Is it your job? Is it your money? Is it your power? Your connections? Your stuff? What safety deposit box are you using to house your very being?
Because you know what? All of that stuff will die with you. Today, tomorrow, 80 years from now. Gone. Faded. Forgotten.
Is that what you want? Do you want to be that guy or gal who is remembered by the financial inheritance you leave to your kids? Do you want to be that father or mother who was loved by friends and yet grieved by his own family? Do you want to be that party animal that just risks it all, and could die before you finish reading this? Oh you had a great time I know, I’ve seen your fun Friday Facebook photos. But guess what? You’re gone. 6 feet under. Sure your Facebook page will live on until we can figure out your stupid 14-character alpha-numerical password and finally remove it. But that’s it. Done. Just like the 2 clicks it takes to delete your page, so your life will fade into the recesses of your loved ones’ grey matter. Buried under life changes, more weekend parties, family moves, adventures…occasionally slipping back to the forefront of their minds and yet only as the subtle after thought, “I wish he was…”
So. Who Are You? I don’t want to know what you identify with. Do you know why? Because things, those “whats“, they change. “What’s” Fail You. Identify yourself with my beloved Seattle Seahawks and guess what? Your identity will be let down. Identify yourself with this job in the Navy and guess what? You will get a tattoo of that job on your hand (no joke, he did) and when you retire in one year Chief, your identity will be lost. You will have no idea who you really are, and the outside world will not care. But guess who followed you through your full 20 year career and is also transitioning into the civilian world with you? Oh yes. Your wife and son, who have no idea who you are. See, when we place our identity as humans–as Tim and Ben and you Beloved– in a particulate something of this rotting World, it all rots away with it. It changes. It let’s us down, crushes us, fails us. We become slaves to seeking out the most stable identities–this usually being money–and seek to change our identities through wealth and clothes and cars and houses and colleges and life-long careers. “How dare you even consider not going to College! EVERYONE goes to college!” “How DARE you even THINK about wanting to leave the United States Navy! This is ALL you have! This is what MADE you!”
And we end up forsaking those who truly love us. Those whom we truly love. And most importantly, we end up forsaking the One who Created us. The One that transcends our colleges and jobs and suits and titles. The One who only cares about 2 things; our relationship with Him, and our relationship with each other. He’s given us a great amount of years to focus on simply these 2 things. WHY are we wasting any more time and the resources He’s blessed us with pursuing anything other than these 2 things?? Everything in the Bible falls into one of those 2 categories!
So Who Are You? I don’t care what you do. I don’t care what your title is, or rank, or age. It’s not these outward adornments that define you as a Man of Character. It’s not these positions or places you’ve worked all your life to achieve that tell me what you have on the inside. Calling you Sir or Ma’am or Pastor or Mr. President does not mean you are a Man of Honor, a Man of Integrity.
Who are You? With Whom do you Identify yourself with? Let it be One that is steadfast, unchanging. That our identities may be anchored to the Rock Unmovable. That we may be strong in who we are, and certain of our Eternity.
I love you, Dearest Reader, and am praying for you often.
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