Skip to main content

Identity Theft

I read recently that 60 million Americans have been affected by identity theft. Sixty million. Here is some perspective. The state of California, the most populous state in the U.S., has a recorded population for 2018 of just under 40 million. Victims of identity theft have reported feelings of loss, devastation, stress, anxiety, fear, and thoughts of suicide.

Now, there are 240 million Christians in the U.S. as is documented by Wikipedia. How many of the 240 million would you guess has suffered from some form of identity theft? Consider Jeremiah 1:5 which tell us before we were conceived, we already had an identity.

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you."

Source Unknown
As I look back over my life, there is a definitive pattern of morphing from one personality into another.  Through subtle undertones or blatant criticisms, I allowed others to not only take my identity but to obliterate it. I experienced those same emotions of devastation, stress, anxiety, fear, and so on. Several people have asked me over the years why I would ever put up with this kind of thievery. Little compromises. Truthfully, there was never a conscious decision to accept this type of abuse. Fear and low self-esteem were the untrustworthy, mental gatekeepers who allowed the liars and abusers full access. I believed what others said about me. I accepted their labels as if my age, or upbringing, or hometown somehow made me a flawed individual. Sadly, I had more integrity and moral character than the pilferers lording over me.

"I became the true definition of the walking dead."

Song of Solomon declares the "little foxes spoil the vineyard." Those crafty foxes have names such as Rejection, Compromise, Self-Loathing, Abandonment, Failure, Trauma, Fear, Jealousy, Pride. Stop to reflect for a moment and you can probably identify the little foxes in your life, too. People, events, emotions that have reshaped you. Yes, even other Christians. So many of us have not only fallen victim to identity theft, but there is probable cause to convict the church world of felony theft and grand larceny by way of CONTROL and RELIGION. Remember, all life begins and ends with God. No one else has dominion over you. Therefore, God is the One we want to please not mere mortals who are just as imperfect. So, run those foxes out of the vineyard of your heart and allow God to tend to the garden of your soul so that you may bring forth good fruit.

At the age of 42, I'm just beginning to discover who I really am, who God created me to be.
I am finally free to be me. I am enough and no one can ever take that from me.

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Joseph: Treasure Chest

I've so enjoyed the study of Joseph, thus far.  For me, it has been much like finding a treasure chest, cautiously opening the lid, peering in trying to see everything the chest holds.  Layers upon layers, depths upon depths, discovering and analyzing every part of his life recounted in the Bible like examining small gemstones or more accurately witnessing the most beautiful diamond being formed amidst the ugliest circumstances.  "Natural diamonds are formed about 100 miles beneath the earth's surface where carbon rich rocks are melted by the heat of the earth's mantle, a layer of liquid lava rock, and are compressed by the enormous pressure of the many miles of earth above them. As the earth churns, the heated rock may move upwards away from the heat and cool over time, which can form diamonds if the conditions are just right. It takes hundreds of thousands of years for the process to take place." (ehow.google)  To simplify--high temperature, high pressur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Trees Are Trees

Source Unknown "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then, God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light." Genesis 1:1-3 Creation was a six-day process that began and ended with the spoken word of God. He created the heavens and the earth, dry land and the seas, vegetation, seed-bearing plants, and trees on fruit-bearing land. He created seasons, living creatures, and man. Our Creator then rested on the seventh day, the day of fulfillment, the completion of His perfect plan. In one of my favorite passages in Genesis, the scripture depicts the scene of the "Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day." Can you picture it? The Creator walking through His very own creation in the early evening enjoying the brilliant, colorful flowers with their fragrance lingering in the air. The reg...
3 comments
Read more

Character Traits

The first of the year is always a time of looking inward--self-evaluation.  The fact is, we all have things that we do not like about ourselves.  Most commonly, we describe them as "character flaws".  Perhaps, we should ask ourselves if these attributes are really flawed or is it more accurate that our use of them is where we err.  Sometimes, I think it is the way we exert these quirks that determine what we do and do not like about ourselves as well as how others view us and how we view them.   Also, keep in mind that an imbalance of these qualities can be taken to the extreme and most certainly become flawed.  Some examples: Determination ® Strong-willed, stubbornness Humility ®  low self-esteem Meekness ® weakness Organized  ® obsessive Leadership skills ® controlling, bossy Most of these idiosyncrasies should be viewed as strengths rather than weaknesses.  In the appropriate settings and...
Post a Comment
Read more