Identity

GODSun Perspective on
Spirituality, Leadership and Business

March 2024                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Vol 0224

Exploring the Interconnectedness of Spirituality, Leadership and Business

Well my friends we have just finished holy week with the culmination of the celebration of the death, burial and resurrection of the Saviour of the world, our risen Lord, Jesus Christ. I pray that you had a wonderful long weekend.

Last month I spoke about our foundation and said that any good growth will be dependent upon the foundation that is being built or has been built. If there are cracks or missing pieces, what is being built on that foundation is in peril. I suggested that the foundation is us because any progress that happens in the world is the result of our activities. And I gave four suggestions as to what will ensure that our foundation is secure and that what we build will last instead of crumbling like a house of cards. I am going to expand on the first point in this newsletter and I am not sure how many newsletters it is going to take me to complete the point, so I hope that you will continue the journey with me. The first point is:

We need to know who we are

We come onto this planet attached to a family, which lives in a certain geographical region, that speaks a certain language, etc. So, my identity could be the result of what people think they know about my country. On the other hand people could look at you and say “Oh she comes from a good family.” What do they mean by that? They are referring to known actions or activities of our family line and are projecting that identity upon us. And it can just as easily go the other way as well and have an unfavourable identity projected upon you and your future. And we have done that to whole people groups. I could talk about the perceived identity one has been given based on the colour of one’s skin and/or country of origin. This has been done throughout history but a perceived identity may not be the truth. Perceived identities were perpetrated in the past to justify unjust actions such as the extermination of the Jews in Germany during the reign of terror of Hitler. And yes, I know that we say perception is reality, but, when it comes down to us knowing who we are, we can choose whether we accept the manufactured perception or picture that has been created by outside forces. The serfs didn’t accept that they had to stay as slaves or vassals of the so called aristocracy, the Jews that they didn’t have a right to have a place to call home or the African that they were born to be slaves. The question that needs to be asked and answered is do those things identify or define who I am? I want to suggest that those markers are superficial. If you don’t know who you are you will accept the picture or identity that others have crafted for you. And this happens very subtly in culture which will try to dictate to us who we are to be. We see this all the time in so many ways: via the media identifying what constitutes a family, programs that are produced to support the desired narrative, positions that are elevated, etc. In Canadian society the persona or identity that is put forward is one based on position, power, influence and wealth. We are always asking people ‘what they do’ instead of ‘who they are’. We act as if these two questions are one and the same. If I know what you do: doctor, lawyer, engineer, garbage collector, teacher, unemployed, etc. then I know who you are. And unfortunately, we allow this thinking to influence our identity. How often have you heard people say “I am just a ….They normally start this way if they cannot say I am a member of an elevated position such as lawyer, a doctor, Director of, etc. When we connect our identity to what we do we are not valuing who we are. This mindset hinders us from knowing who we really are because it is not what we do.

I believe that we are all birthed with gifts and talents. I also believe that we all have a purpose in life and that we have been given specifically designed gifts and talents to support our purpose. Which means no one can fulfill your purpose like you can. But, if we don’t know who we are, if our self perception has been marred will we be able to achieve our purpose? The giftings and talents of a person are evident as a child. We can tell which child is the thinker, the one with the gift of communication, problem solving, the one which is musical, empathetic and compassionate, the one who is always giving orders and organizing all those in her or his sphere of influence, etc. These gifts are evident but if they are used in an environment that doesn’t value that gift then they may not value it either and they will shut that gift down or not own it because of the response they get when they display their gift. Each time we shut down one of our God given gifts or abilities we lose a part of our identity. When we only take our cues from our family members, friends, co-workers, culture, etc we will be challenged to know who we were created to be. Our identity comes from who we are on the inside. Who we were created to be and not who our family or culture fashioned us to be. As a leader or business person you will be hard pressed to be the best that you can be if you don’t know who you are because you have taken your identity from those around you instead of from the one who created you. I will continue with this point next month.

Thanks for reading and if you like what you are reading please share my newsletter with your friends. They can subscribe to my newsletter at www.godsunconsulting.com.

Happy Belated Easter!

Sunday