Carrying a False ID?

Do you regularly carry some form of identification with you, especially when you leave the house? Most of us have a driver's license, passport, or identification card of some kind. Some have that information in their smartphone, while others carry a wallet full of identifying information. Is it that tiny card you carry that really identifies who you are? Is it possible to carry a bit of 'false identification' with us? Yes, there are many people who produce such 'false IDs' because there is both a demand for them and a profit to be made. It is possible we may be carrying some sort of 'false identification' with us apart from those cards that could be carried in our wallets. That 'false ID' is the one we carry along with us because we feel shame for our past - identifying with our failures and not the hope we are given in Christ Jesus.

And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

When we believed, there was an exchange of identification - we came into a new family. We moved from the family of unbelievers into the family of believers. We took on a new image - Christ's image. We took on a new character - Christ in us, working through us, creating new desires and passions. So, why do we continue to carry around that false identification of 'sinner', 'unclean', 'impure', or 'unholy'? We are none of these things if we have said 'yes' to Jesus. We are identified as his own - we carry a new identification - the presence of the Holy Spirit within us.

When we identify with our sinful past and not with our redeemed present, we are likely doing so because of some element of shame we have internalized due to our past sinful indulgences. When we have done 'dishonorable' things, it is not uncommon to experience bad 'feelings' about our actions. Keep nursing those feelings long enough and you actually begin to identify yourself as whatever that sin is. This is shame - identifying with the sin because we regret over and over again the sinful actions we have taken. There is a lot to be said for grace, but one of the very precious things we can know about grace is that we are no longer identified with that sin.

We have been given a new ID, but we might just hold onto that 'false identification' for a while because we don't trust we will 'live up to' the new identity we have been given. The truth is that we probably won't live up to it in our own power, but that is why we were given the Holy Spirit - to help us live 'beyond' that previous identification! Just sayin!

This no longer 'fits'

A solid reputation requires a commitment to being honest. Deceitful people walk a treacherous, thorny path. Mom always said that my lies would "snowball". In other words, it was like rolling the tiny snowball into the bigger one which eventually became the biggest part of the snowman's body! The more you "roll around" in the lie, the more lies you attract and use to cover up the original one. Eventually, there is more effort in being dishonest than there ever would have been in maintaining your integrity and just coming clean about what it is you wanted to cover up in the first place. At the moment, a lie seems like an easy fix to a miserable situation, but in the end, the situation is made more miserable by the lies. No amount of "cover-up" actually stays covered up very long. Eventually some form of "heat" will cause the truth to surface - and when it does, the damage the lies have done to your reputation leave a bigger "hole" to fix.

We justify our actions by appearances; God examines our motives. Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors mean far more to God than religious performance. Arrogance and pride—distinguishing marks in the wicked—are just plain sin. (Proverbs 21:2-4)

Consider how we treat the poor or those who seem to have injustices done to them all the time. We could all probably forget that the "beggar" is really a person behind the sign. We see the "outward" but forget about the person behind the outward display. I think God wants us to consider the person and not only their "display" - for the person is the one with the true need for our touch, consideration, and empathy. Injustice is any event or circumstance which inflicts undeserved hurt. See beyond the "sign" in another's life and look for the ways we can turn-around the "hurts" they have experienced. The foolish man is really exhibiting some 'not so good' behavior which affects those around him. Fighting, quarrels, and insults leave their devastation behind wherever the fool has had his influence. The fool defies and challenges just for the sake of an argument without regard to the outcome or the cost. We have to guard against maintaining company with the fool - because they do damage without any concern for the damage inflicted. If you find yourself "downing" the hopes of another, you might just be venturing into the realm of the fool. Check yourself if this occurs, for you are not only damaging the delight of another but developing a bad reputation for yourself.

Reputation is both gained and maintained. What we might not realize is how it can also be "re-gained". It is through the work of Christ in our lives, taking apart the pieces which don't "fit" any longer after we give him control. In turn, he replaces these pieces with the type of actions which "fit". It is this "refitting" operation which reveals new evidence consistent with a change in character. This change in character is what gives us a renewed or new reputation in the eyes of others. If you have found yourself in the place of living with a damaged reputation because of past actions on your part, don't be discouraged. God's plan is to restore in ways you would never dream possible. You just need to give him the damaged parts and let him have his way in taking away what no longer "befits" the child of God and "outfitting" you with his character in turn. Just sayin!

What a character!

A good reputation is better than much wealth; high esteem is better than silver and gold. The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord made them both. Prudent people see trouble and hide, while the simpleminded go right to it and get punished. The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord is wealth, honor, and life. Thorns and nets are in the path of the crooked; those who guard their lives keep their distance. Train children in the way they should go; when they grow old, they won’t depart from it. The wealthy rule over the poor; a borrower is a slave to a lender. Those who sow injustice will harvest evil; the rod of their fury will come to an end. Happy are generous people, because they give some of their food to the poor. Remove the mocker and conflict disappears; judgment and shame also stop. (Proverbs 21:1-10)

The overall quality of character is what determines if a man or woman will be known in a favorable light. We call this "reputation" - something which "precedes" us into every venture in life. Get a "bad rep" and we might just have to "start over" in a new "life" in order to escape the "unfavorable" reputation we have acquired. People try to do this by moving to a new location, starting a new job, or entering into a new relationship. Until we deal with whatever got us the "bad rep" in the first place, we will just redo the same things wherever we start anew. I know this because I speak from personal experience. I was a little bit of a troublemaker as a teenager, and there were times when my reputation preceded me wherever I went. Despite the attempts to convince others I had "started over", the bad events of my past just followed me. What I failed to recognize it that others looked for evidence in the actions I exhibited, not in the words I spoke. The "convincing" only came once God fully got hold of my life and my "reputation" began to change because my CHARACTER began to change!

Character is the basis of everything others might come to believe about us. We can determine to "show" one thing, but if the character is not there behind what it is we are "showing", it won't hold up to the test of time or the scrutiny of the observant eye. God asks for us to "guard" the "clean" reputation that comes from simply serving him. We need to "protect" it - not because we need to "shine it up" to make it appear good, but because there are lots of opportunities for it to get "dings" and "gouges" along the way. All we respond to in life provides opportunity for getting a few dings or gouges in our reputation - it is the responses we give in the moment of testing which often need our greatest attention. A prudent person "foresees" the dangers ahead and as a result, he takes the necessary actions to avoid those dangers. This is where I went wrong in my teenage years - I thought I could just trudge ahead, unconcerned about the consequences of my questionable and even bad decisions. I forgot to consider my actions producing certain consequences - some of which damaged my reputation. This is where a good many of us fail in life - not considering the dangers ahead by giving full-steam to the actions we take in the moment. When God reminds us to "guard" our reputation, I think he is telling us to think about the actions before we take them - considering well the consequences which could come as a result of certain actions. Just sayin!