CALLED TO STAND OUT: Identity Crisis

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Identity Crisis

By: L. J. Bagby

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).

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MENTOR'S CORNER 1-31-12

MENTOR'S CORNER 1-30-12

Send Someone A Signal That They Matter … Every word you speak is a Seed that guarantees a reaction. Everyone needs reassurance of their worth. Remind yourself throughout today that each person you meet has encountered waves of criticism, condemnation and inferiority.. you can change this. Your words of reassurance can be like water on their Seeds of Hope.

“The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.” – Isaiah 50:4

MENTOR'S CORNER 1-23-12

Warfare always surrounds the birth of a miracle.

Nothing is as ever as bad as it first appears. Battle is the opportunity to prove what you believe. Joseph proved that opposition is the wave that takes you from the pit to the palace … Accept opposition as proof of your progress.

The size of your enemy determines the size of your reward. Do not let any enemy decide the timing of battle, nor the weapons you will use. - Murdock

“In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.” – Psalm 56:11

MENTOR'S CORNER 1-21-12

Those you admire, eternally effect your future. Choose a mentor who increases your faith in God. Learn from the scars of your mentor as well as his sermons. You cannot learn from anyone you resent or envy. You can only learn from someone you are humble enough to admire … Choose A Proven Mentor. – Murdock

“And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake.” – 1 Thes. 5: 12-13

MENTOR's CORNER 1-20-12

Never hesitate to re-appraise your goals and what you really want to accomplish.

Remember that your goals are birthed out of needs .. and your needs are often seasonal. Celebrate every page of progress toward your goals. Don’t keep pursuing a dream no longer capable of energizing you.

New information creates new goals. New relationships create new enthusiasm … Re-evaluate your current goals.

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” (Luke 14:28)

MENTOR's CORNER 1-19-12

Every champion must be willing to believe in his own dream when others seem too busy or uncaring to encourage him.. Every great inventor, such as Thomas Edison, faced waves of ridicule and scorn before their geniuses were recognized and appreciated. Don’t forget to keep your focus on where you are going and refuse to be discouraged by the present circumstances that will soon pass.

Aloneness.. removes the stain of wrong influence … Be willing to dream alone sometimes. - Murdock

“… I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” – Heb. 13: 5

MENTOR's CORNER 1-17-12

The secret of champions is their refusal to quit trying. Futility is merely a feeling .. conquer it and keep heading toward your goals. Create small successes when the large ones seem impossible. Even skyscrapers are built a brick at a time. Quitting .. does not really give you what you really want. Every step away from yesterday is significant progress. – Murdock

For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. – Isa. 28: 10 (ESV)

CALLED TO STAND OUT

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Identity Crisis

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