DEVOTION
Identity Crisis
By Laura J. Bagby
CBN.com
- I have to admit, I love finding out more about the personality
types, but I honestly think I need to quit cold turkey.
When finding yourself in some self-analyzing test becomes an
obsession, well it's time to re-prioritize. In my voracious search
for self I bought every personality book I could find and I have
taken every possible test. I have found out what kind of leader
I am, what animal I most resemble, what color best fits my personality,
and on the spiritual end, even what Bible character I am most
like.
But what's next? What shape I am? What vegetable? It could conceivably
continue infinitely.
What's ironic is that the search for better self-understanding
only led me into confusion and depression. The results didn't
match up. One survey said I was an introvert; another confirmed
I was an extrovert. One swore that I was a bold leader; the other
seemed to think I would rather hang back in the crowd. And on
and on. I would put the book down and still wonder who I really
was.
You know what I think? I think human nature is just too complex
to get down on paper, and the more we try to find ourselves in
some arbitrary categories, the more miserable we shall become.
I can attest because eventually we always want to become what
we are not.
The answer to the continual search for an identity is always
Jesus Christ. What does God say about you and I? Well, He might
not tell you whether you are a sanguine or an intuitive thinker
or an influential leader, but what He will tell you means more
than all the secular books on self-understanding.
Don't get me wrong. There is a place for such analysis. Just
don't place your whole value there. God tells us that we are His
children. We are co-heirs with Christ. We are in fact new creations.
This is our true identity.
I like God's personality test best. All I have to do is give
myself to the Lord, and He makes me more like Jesus Christ everyday.
My personality quirks and foibles are now His business. He takes
care of the rest.
"For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in
God" (Col. 3:3, NIV).
More Devotions
on Spiritual Life
More from Spiritual Life
CBN IS HERE FOR YOU!
Are you seeking answers in life? Are you hurting?
Are you facing a difficult situation?
A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need.
|