No I’m not singing an oldies hit.

I’m thinking about how what we do for a living often defines who we are. How often have you met someone new and asked them “So what do you do?”

Why is so much of our identity wrapped up in what we do for a living?

 Maybe its not so much what you do for a career, maybe its something you do for recreation? Maybe you are an artist like myself, or maybe you are a farmer, or a mom, a wife, a horse trainer, a fisherman, a musician, a hunter, a little league coach, or a 4-H leader. Maybe you write software, or are a graphic designer, an author, a social worker, or a business owner?

No matter what you do as a career or for recreation (or out of obligation), I have no doubt it makes up a large part of who we are. Sometimes we are multiple things, and that’s when life can get really interesting. Not only do we have to juggle different tasks, we have to juggle the different identities that go with them.

I struggled for a long time calling myself an “artist”. To me, it was more of something that I did, not something that I was. Sometimes identifying with a title can bring negative connotations, and so we are hesitant to put ourselves in the same classification.   Many artists, crafters, and musicians, don’t refer to themselves as “artists” anymore because of the idea that artists are messy, unorganized, lazy, dreamers, reckless, and irrational. Many prefer to call themselves “creatives”. I kind of like this term, although it tends to be a bit vague. This also can include inventors and developers, not that they are not creative, but its not what we think of as artists. Although some of the negative connotations for these groups is probably true to an extent, it doesn’t hold true for all. Often, the most successful are often very organized, deliberate and very hard working. People tend to think of them as the overnight successes, but they have been working hard for a long time to break into the upper levels of their craft.

But we can’t claim to be something that we are not. I can’t call myself an artist unless I create art. I can’t call myself a farmer if I don’t farm. A musician cannot claim to be a musician if they do not create music. So yes, our identity is often very tied up in what we do. But what does that say about you?

Many of you know that I am a Christian and that my faith is very important to me. Many people call themselves “Christians”, but what does it really mean? There are lots of negative things that may come to mind when someone says “Christian” such as hypocrite, Jesus freak, member of the Holy huddle. But if we go back to the first people to be called “Christians” it wasn’t a whole lot different. The First people in history to be called Christians were the disciples. It was a derogatory name because they were Christ followers, which was quite counter cultural. It must have been obvious to everyone around them that they were followers of Christ for them to be called that, but what were they doing that made it so obvious? To those of us who call ourselves Christians, is it this obvious? As I heard recently, if being a Christian were a crime, would there be enough evidence to find you guilty of the charge?

I heard in a sermon recently that we need to be found worthy of our calling. As retired military, the pastor said it was instilled in you that you had to be worthy of the uniform. Just anyone doesn’t get to wear Marine dress blues. Only a Marine. You have to go through boot camp and graduate to be called a Marine. As believers our uniform is Christ’s Robe of Righteousness. Are we wearing it so everyone can tell? Yes, we are human and make mistakes, but are we constantly seeking His will, and living according to His word? Out of all the things I am and the identities I have, I would hope that the one of being a Christ follower would be the first that others notice about me.  

 

May we all be worthy of the uniform.