Who Am I?

Suppose, for whatever reason, you are an excellent shoplifter. You practice often. Does that make you a thief?

This behavior has become your identity. Much like my friend the dentist, when asked who she is, will say, “I am a dentist.”, we usually think of our identity as being paired with our behaviors. My dentist friend is also a mom, daughter, master gardener and person in long term recovery.

Identities change. Identity is more than one thing. We can get a fake ID or even go into the witness protection program as a way to change our identity but these are low percentage options for transformation.

Change, transformation, usually happens slowly and unevenly over a long period of time.

One way to change is to participate in our own renovation and restoration. We are cooperating with God as he works to remove our shortcomings (selfishness, self-centeredness, fear, dishonesty) when we become willing to admit the awesome power of this one true thing: you can steal without becoming a thief.

You only become a thief if you never decide to stop stealing, refuse to admit that you have stolen in the past and refuse to make right your wrongs.

What identity are you ready to let go of? Who do you intend to become? What behaviors does he/she practice to live out that intention?