Who Are We?

What defines us? Have you ever thought about what really defines your life? Many times when I am at a cementary I will walk around and read the various grave markers. The markers offer a brief picture of what others feel defined the life of their loved one. If you had to write your obituary today what would you want it to say about your life? What do you want to be remembered for?

I began this post several months ago and never finished it but after reading an article about Kenny McKinley, wide receiver for the Denver Broncos I thought I would finish it.  The article focused on the struggles of pro football players while mentioning the similar struggles we all have.  It talked about the pressures of job performance, of superman complexes, of disorders and the fear to ask for help and the danger of self-indentity and self-worth being tied to our job, our vocation or the label our life is tagged with.  Our identity is crucial to our health and fulfillment in life.  Who are you?

In talking with people I find that for many of us our lives are defined by actions, positions, abilities, appearance, status, accomplishments, and for many Christ-followers our gifts instead of "being."  But all these will end one day, some sooner than we think. While these are descriptors of our life they are not what defines our lives.  These are to flow out of who we are and the purpose of our life not the other way around.

Who I am is defined by God. If I have entered a relationship with God I am a Christ-follower, a child of God. The purpose of my life is found in my creator and Heavenly Father. If I have not entered relationship with God I am God's loved creation yet I am a lost child of God. The purpose of my life is to know God. We are eternal beings and the temporal things of our physical world cannot define us. Our value and worth finds its source in that we are created by God in his image and given the gift of life. Worth and value are not measured by the degree of my productivity.  My worth, my value, life's worth and value is found in our creation, or being, not my title, position, possessions, status or whether I can still add value to the community I am a part of.

To define ourselves by what we do, who we know, by our abilities, etc devalues who we are. As a Christ-follower my life has purpose whether I am in a productive season of my life, whether I am a multi-gifted person or a mono-gifted person. All my abilities, attributes, resources, and life whether they are in abundance or are scarce are to be used to fulfill my purpose in life. I am defined by who I am! Life is to be about being not doing. Who I am, what what I am defined by is found in my relationship with Jesus.  All people have value, have worth whether they are Christ-followers or not our life is sacred because we have been created in the image of God and have been infused with purpose.  Descartes said, "I think therefore I am."  I would suggest God created me and loves me therefore I am and my life has purpose and meaning.  I am therefore I do; not I do therefore I am.  Being precedes doing, being has value when doing ceases, being gives meaning to doing.

No matter who you are no matter what your title is, no matter how gifted or talented you are your life has great value and purpose.  As I grow older I watch the limiting of certain abilities, does that mean I am of less value to my community, to my culture or to the world? No!  We have been created in the image of God that is where our identity lies, that is where our worth is therefore; there is purpose and meaning even when life's abilities and productivity is diminished.  Who are we?  That is the foundational question.  Jobs, vocations, strength, abilities, beauty, popularity, relationships and titles all eventually fade away, who are we when the light fades, the cheers and the crowds become silent and we are alone with ourselves?  I, we are God's creation called into relationship with him, through Jesus, to eternal purposes that infuse this life and eternal life.  You are loved today, your life has value today no matter where you find yourself.

Stuck

Reading some of the news stories today you would think that the GOP's chance of winning back the Senate is all but dead because a GOP candidate won the Delaware primary.  Christine O'Donnell a conservative republican beat out the believed shoe in Mike Castle for the spot on the republican ticket for Delaware's Senate seat.  Now you may be thinking my blog today is going to be all about politics.  No, it's really going to be about becoming stuck.

The GOP is unwilling to support Christine O'Donnell financially and has offered little congratulatory encouragement.  The reason, she is to conservative, lacks experience and is viewed as not having a chance to win the seat.  It appears the GOP is willing to cut off their nose to spit their face.  Why?  One reason is that they are stuck.  Lifetime seats in the Senate can cause myopia and atrophy causing those in them to become more self-serving and defenders of the system instead of the principles that the system is founded on.

But isn't that somewhat true for all of our lives?  What was once new and innovative eventually becomes canonized, systematized and seen as the rule or way we are to do it.  We love our traditions.  Now this is not necessarily a bad thing tradition has a very valid and needed place in society and culture.  It is when the tradition or the system trumps the founding principles or beliefs than we are in trouble and stuck.  Jesus said, "Neither is new wine put into old wineskins.  If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed.  But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved."

While our political system seems to becoming more and more mired in keeping power for power's sake, in keeping the old guard while others are adopting old socialistic ideologies the nation as a whole is experiencing entropy.   But change always starts with the individual.  How are we stuck?  Is my life driven by eternal principles or have I become stuck in tradition for tradition sake?  Are my decisions based in living truth or pragmatism, hedonism or other humanistic philosophies?  Change is difficult, it is uncomfortable and will be resisted and mocked by the systems that are no longer driven by their founding principles.  To not change is certain death whether it comes quickly or slowly.

Maybe an inexperienced conservative candidate is the answer or maybe not.  Maybe staying in the place we are at is the right thing for us or maybe it is not.  All of us at least need to be open to evaluating our position.  Are we more concerned about tradition or keeping what we have than, living truth and eternal principles?  Maybe we need our own personal tea party for the areas we are stuck in.  If for no other reason the tea party movement will be beneficial if it makes us reexamine our political establishment and reexamine our actions and our life.

Bad Religion

It seems to be in vogue or in fashion in the media and more recently in sermons and blogs to bash "religion."  For years Christians or Christ-followers have worked hard at making a distinction between religion and a relationship with Jesus.  It is not uncommon today to hear preachers and Christ-followers joining the chorus of atheists, agnostics and those who are merely spiritual saying how horrible religion is, how they hate religion or that religion is just a pile of whatever.  I, myself, have added my voice to the chorus of those who have offered a harsh critique of religion from the inside.  But is religion truly wrong or bad?  And where would Christ-followers be without religion?

I believe that what most people are attacking or critiquing when they offer their comments on religion is "bad religion" not religion itself.  Religion defined by Webster is, "1 Belief in and worship of God or gods.  2 A specific system of belief, worship, etc., often involving a code of ethics."  Religion is a term to define belief in God and its outflow of worship and life.  The belief in God and worship of God results in a lifestyle that honors and glorifies God (ethics based in a theological or biblical worldview).  If we were to forsake or throwout religion, as historically defined, Christ-followers would be throwing away their relationship with Jesus.  As a Christ-follower, myself,  I would not be willing to do that.

Revisionist history or revisionist grammar (language) is not always helpful to the truth and at times can be detrimental.  The etymology of "religion" can mean to reconnect or to reverence God or gods.  This is at the core of a Christian's belief.  We belief all people need to reconnect with God that is why Christ came.  If is Christ who reconnects us with God.  The term religion has been used to refer to the belief systems that develop out of a belief in God or gods.  I find many of the critiques and calls to eliminate religion really come from one's problem with certain belief systems or structures that have developed out of a certain belief in God or gods.   Why don't we just call these systems or structures "bad religion?"  Redefining "religion" sends the wrong message we end up saying we want to get rid of all belief in God and all ethical standards of life that come from a belief in God and our creation in God's image.  There are the purest who really do mean and want to get rid of all religion, all belief in God or gods because they truly belief that any belief in God is self-deceptive at best and dangerous at worst.

Words are important and as a Christ-follower I need to be careful how I use words.  I need to be careful what actions I am calling for and how I am revising historical terms for I might find myself calling for the deconstruction of the very thing that gives my life purpose, meaning and that gives me life itself.  Is it merely semantics?  Maybe but I don't think so.  Religious systems that are based in humanism, human efforts to please God and earn our way into relationship with God are "bad religion."  But also are belief systems based in "cheap grace" that mirrors a humanistic ethical system where Christ-followers have higher divorces rates than non Christ-followers, have lower work ethics than non Christ-followers, do not care for the widow, the orphan and the poor and do not hold to absolute truth.  These are examples of "bad religion" not pure religion.  Religion is not a pile of "crap" and something to be thrown out "bad religion" is.

These are just some of my thoughts on a current pet peeve.  If they are a cause for further thought I am happy.  If they offend you I apologize.  If they make you uncomfortable that may be good.  If it makes us thank about God than I am really happy.