Tony Wheeler dot Net

One of the comments on my previous post talked about tying your identity to what you do to earn a living. I think that comment is spot on. Think about the last time you met someone new. Probably the first question that either of you asked had something to do with what you do to earn money. For many people, this might be okay. I think that I struggle greatly with this because no matter how I earn money, I’m so much more than that. I’m a Jesus Follower, husband, father, craftsman of sorts, amatuer coffee roaster, motorcycle enthusiast….and the list could go on.

I’ve been thinking about how I will answer the next time someone asks me what I do. Not sure yet, but I’m sure that it will be something good!

Where did the idea of putting people in little boxes come from? I’m not sure, but I do know that the entire story of human history is woven with stories of people identified by what they did for money. This past week I have been reading Chronicles and was confronted by all the lists of people who were ientified by their role. Everyone had a job to do and had their name and role recorded in the annals of time. Were they something else outside of that role? Sure. But to some extent their “job” defined their place in history.

I think that is the part that I struggle with. I want my place in history to count. Not that I want to be recorded for generations to come to read about, I just want my life to matter.

Your thoughts?

I’ve been mulling over a thought for the past few weeks centered around identity. Countless people in my sphere of influence struggle with what I think is a crisis of identity. I’m certainly grouping myself inside the crisis circle. As I reflect over the past 31 years of my life (today marking the start of my 31st year), I cannot help but reflect on the choices, paths, relationships, careers, and education that have made up my life.

While I do not wish that any of these things were different, I cannot help but try to read the real motivation behind them. I’ve come to the conclusion that it boils down to identity. Many of the careers that I have pursued have distinct identity associated with them. Police Officer, Pastor, Motorcycle mechanic, zoologist, doctor…all of them hold a distinct identity. So what does that say about me? It says I’m normal. It says that for the most part I’m not sure who I really am. A lot of the deep introspection that I’ve been doing lately has revealed that I’m just a dude who loves God, loves my family (and therefore want to care for them well), and loves people. I’m pretty sure I have said it many times before, but basically that is who I am and at the end of the day that is who I want to be known and remembered for. Sure, there are a lot of things that I want to accomplish in this life. Lots of dreams in my heart and mind, but those are really secondary until they become primary in their own time.

What about you? Do you struggle with identity? Are you okay with who you are, or are you like me and waste substantial time and energy trying to be someone else? How can we encourage each other in this journey?

I’m just a fellow sojourner…praying for your journey!