Why do we wrap up our identity so much in what we do? I think when we do that we devalue who we are, who God has created us to be. I ask the question because I know that I am terribly guilty of this.
For example, last Saturday was Grandma's Marathon and I found a part of me feeling kind of weird because I wasn't running. I think in part because I've defined myself as a runner, as a marathoner even, and yet I haven't hardly run a step in almost nine months. If I don't run who am I?
I do it in other places as well. I do it in ministry as well. Because I define myself as a pastor I find myself measuring myself against other pastors and ministers. How well I do ministry in comparison has a way of defining how "good" I am as a person.
Now, I don't share these examples as a plea for others to tell me what a great person I am. Instead I share them because I have a hunch others act in a similar way and have seen the destructive nature of it, or maybe need to see the destructive nature of that thinking. I share them to ask the question of, "How do you break free from that kind of thinking?"
Thanks for visiting my BLOG. I am the pastor at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Rome, WI. I hope to share with you here some of the things that I am thinking about, that I'm challenged by, that I'm curious about. I hope this can be a place for us to encourage and challenge one another in our faith, so please add your comments.
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