“How we identify ourselves is the thing we will become.”

A thought by Bob Goff, (2014-01-07) from his book with Barna Group, Multi-Careering: Do Work That Matters at Every Stage of Your Journey (Frames) (p. 38). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

How do you identify yourself? I identified myself for many years as a church planter but one day I retired and in one sense I lost my identity at least I had to change it.

Bob also said, “As time has passed, I’ve come to think of my careers as a part of my legacy, but certainly not all of it. After we’re gone, those closest to us may appreciate the work we did, but they’re more likely to remember how we did it. They will remember us for our love and whimsy. Only strangers will remember us just for our jobs or titles.” And then he says, “I have learned to be very careful how I describe myself, because people do best at what they identify with most.”

This has been a very soul searching thought for me today. It is so easy to see what you do in your career as your identity and to give our life to being very good at it. Oh I believe that God wants us to live our lives in such a way that it makes Him look good but it is more than just our job. For many that isn’t true and they strive to do all they can to be very successful in the eyes of those around then. But when they come down to the last cycle of their life they will find it not mattering.

But there is really more to life than that isn’t there? I love being a husband, I love being a father, I love being a grandfather and I love being a man of God. That is really what I want my identity to be. Not a great singer, not a great church planter, not a great writer but a man of God. Because that is what makes a difference in all the others and being a husband, a father and a grandfather is what really matters to me. It hasn’t always been true but it is true now.

So what is your identity?

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