Who Am I?

 

Identity is an interesting concept. Many spend countless hours struggling with the concept, while others rarely give it a thought. It can be crippling; It can be amazingly freeing. In Western society especially, cars, sports teams, and occupations are among the major identity markers.

 My father helped me with cars. He would always say, “A car is simply a tool to get you safely from one place to another”. We’ve owned many over the years. Yet I really can’t say I miss any of them that much. Although there was that black Nissan Sentra that seemed to run on oxygen, but that’s another story. Recently, a few of my students told me I should get a new car. I admit, I decided to play games with them. I ask them what I should get. They recommended a BMW. So I ask them, “I’m supposed to go into debt to drive 4 miles to work just because it looks better than my paid off, old faithful Toyota with 250,000 miles on it. Hard pass on that one.

Others try to identify with a sports team. I see flags flying from windows, trailer hitches, and even in front of houses. The diehards may have a license plate cover (on their identity car) with their favorite team. They even say “we won!” when the contest is finished, even though there is probably no one on the team that even knows they exist.

Men especially, may use their occupation as an identity marker. “I’m a teacher. He’s a doctor. Over there is a plumber. Wives may even succumb to the charm of being a (fill in the blank) wife. I remember someone in Bible college asking Pat (we were still engaged) if she was called to be a “teacher’s wife”. I loved her answer. She replied that she was called to be his wife, no matter what he did. It’s only one of the many reasons I was totally smitten with her.

So where should we get out identity? I don’t know about you, but time has taught me that, on my own, I am nothing special. Every accomplishment, every trait that others may appreciate in me is a gift from God. Value comes from many directions, rarity, individuality, condition, or even beauty. I am none of those. But, I am loved. Sometimes something is priceless because of what it means to the owner. I have value because I am loved by God. I still like saying that I’m a teacher, I’m a father, I’m Pat’s husband. But my real worth comes from being loved by the creator of the universe. And I’m just fine with that.