“Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish”. – Psalm 49:20
The challenge we have in the world today can be traced to identity crisis. Anyone’s outward behavior is a function of how he or she sees him or herself on the inside. A man in honour and does not know he is an honourable man will behave ignoble.
Let us consider two men and their battle with identity:
1. Reuben
“Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power. Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch” – Genesis 49 : 3-4
He was destined to be the excellency of dignity and of power and because he did not know, that prophecy eluded him. He never conducted himself excellently but lived such a low life, that he was caught sneaking into his father’s bed and sleeping with his father’s wife. If he knew he was the excellency of dignity and of power, he wouldn’t have done that. This brought curse to him and his generation. Wrong perception of self, led to his ignoble act.
In the same vein, armed robbers, prostitutes and other social deviants are simply people with missed identity. God never created any robber. When people fail to take their identity from God, the devil gives them a wrong identity of themselves. Our true identity is traced to Genesis 1:26 which says that we are made in God’s image. Anything short of God’s image is a misrepresentation of who we are. God does not gamble, steal or cheat. Neither is He sick, confused and depressed. Any of these should drive a man to God’s Word to get the real picture and be transformed into same image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
2. John the Baptist
“Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias” – John 1 : 22-23
Unlike Reuben, John had a clear picture of who he was. When confronted with the question of identity, he never said “I am John, the son of Elizabeth and so on”. He simply said. “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness…” Who are you?
One must know why one is here, if not, one will run wild. Why are you here on earth now? Are you the one to bring remedy to ravaging poverty and starvation in Africa? Are you coming with solution to political unrest in your nation? Are you coming with a solution to moral decadence in our high schools? Are you the voice crying out against trafficking?
You are not here to make up the number. Knowing who you are will make you conduct yourself accordingly. No man can clearly identify himself, unless he first of all identifies his source. If our source is God according to Genesis 1:26, It means we must trace ourselves back to God. In knowing God, we understand ourselves and His purpose for our lives.