HOW DO YOU DEFINE YOURSELF?

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. 1 John 3:1 (ESV)

After I taught a message about self-esteem one Sunday, a man shared with me that when he was young, his dad always told him he couldn’t expect to do well. His dad believed that people of their family line couldn’t expect success in their city because of discrimination.

This man knew that his dad was only trying to prevent him from suffering disappointment, but this limiting belief shaped the way he saw himself and viewed his potential. He ended up becoming a doctor, but only after he overcame this limiting belief.

You may have heard something similar when you were growing up. Maybe your dad took you aside one day when you lost your temper and said, “You have a wicked temper. I am telling you right now that you’d better control it or you are going to struggle all your life.”

He may have meant well, but be careful how you define yourself. This type of language implies you have a flaw within you—a wicked temper you will always struggle to control. The problem is that believing you have a bad temper will only cause more outbursts because you believe that is who you are. In reality, the only accurate place to discover your identity is God’s Word. As your creator, God is the only expert on you—the person you now are in Christ.

Stay on this journey toward finding out who you really are—it’s worth it! For today, meditate on this thought: You are defined not by what you do or the family you were born into, but by who you belong to—Jesus.