The Modern Identity

If you find yourself on the shifting sand of living up to other people’s expectations (your family, friends, boss, culture, etc.), basing your worth on the number of likes you receive on social media, feeling the pressure to perform for everyone around you, or changing who you are based on your environment, you’re suffering from a modern identity.

A modern identity is created from arbitrary standards set by the individual. In other words, what works best is what works for you. If you want to know your value and your significance, look no further than inside yourself.

Modern identity is all about you, you are the center of the universe. Everyone must cater to your needs and expectations. Someone with a modern identity often believes there is no absolute truth, it’s whatever you want it to be. There is no God, so it’s society’s job to decide what is true and moral. Ironically, you may believe you’re living for yourself while actually allowing culture to determine how your life plays out.

This movement gets props for recognizing our uniqueness as individuals. It’s true that there’s no other person like you on the planet! But the fact that we are each unique doesn’t mean life is all about us—an attitude that leads to numerous problems.

The Bible says that no one can be righteous apart from God. It also says that those of us who follow Jesus have been crucified with Christ, a metaphor for putting the self in its proper place—which is not what a modern identity does.

Jesus knew a me-based identity is a foundation of sinking sand. If you build your house on it, it’s going to sink. The person who crucifies the “me” identity, however, knows that the life they live now is sustained by Christ Jesus alone. The pressure is off. The sinking sand has become solid ground.

THINK THIS: I live my life for what is eternal and true, putting off the desires of the flesh which are contrary to the Spirit, so I can receive the fruits of the Spirit – against such things there is no law.

NOT THAT: I live my life according to what I think is best (or what culture tells me is best).

How central is your “I/me/my” self to your identity? What kinds of problems does it create for you? What would it mean to you to “crucify” this identity?