Who Am I?

The guest speaker at my church today, Richard Berneir, challenged us to guard our hearts from idols. He said that we idolize those things that bring us satisfaction through a sense of approval or validation from others. And he can tell what things are important to us by how we introduce ourselves.

Hello, my name is Selena and I'm ________________. How could I fill in the blank?

• I'm Glen's wife, 
• a homeschooling mom, 
• a writer;
• a disorganized homemaker (just look at the kitchen table and the counter--seriously, please tell me I'm not the only one whose flat surfaces get covered like this!)

So how should I introduce myself? Hi, I'm Selena, lover of Jesus. Or I'm Selena, a daughter of the King. As Mr. Berneir said, our identity is to be rooted in Christ, yet it will gradually become rooted in whatever we idolize.

Colossians 3:2 says:

"Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth," (NASB).

We read the Word of God, we know what we are to do, yet we still get side-tracked by the four components of pride:

1. Power -- It feels good to have power over someone. This is why some parents idolize their children, and why some marriages fail when they become an empty nest.

2. Control -- Who doesn't struggle with this? If you tell me you don't, then I'll say you are not being honest with me, or yourself. Have you ever fishtailed on an icy road while driving and suddenly the steering wheel isn't making your car go the way you want it to? Life is like that. We all want to control things (like our house being as clean as we want it to be!) and we struggle when we can't.

3. Comfort -- Warm shelter, anyone? Plenty of food? Doing what feels good? Of course, we all love to be comfortable, right?

4. Approval -- This is the biggie for a lot of us. We all want approval and when we don't get it we fall into the comparison trap. If we think we are less-than, then we pick the person apart; if we feel we are more-than, we secretly (or sometimes outwardly?) gloat.


Do you look for significance and security in what you do or attain? Whatever our identity or value is based upon becomes our God. And whether that's our husband/wife, our children, our job, our home, or our bank account -- everything crumbles under the weight of being a god to us.

Here are some questions to ponder:

1. How well do you prioritize your time?
2. What fears drive you?
3. What is it that truly defines you?
4. How would someone close to you define you?
5. What has title to your heart?