Forming An Identity
If we are to experience life as God intended we must first understand our identity. From our earliest childhood memories, we began to develop an awareness of our own individuality as a person. We began the process of developing self-identity – who we were in reference to our environment and people in our lives. The processes of personality development are very complex. A combination of psycho-social, parental, and biological influences are likely responsible for the ultimate determination of human traits and moods. Very early on as children we learned coping mechanisms and survival techniques to get our needs met and prove our importance to ourselves and those around us.
There are three basic factors that contribute to the establishment of one's personality and an early understanding of who they are. It begins with what they can do (their abilities and talents). This leads to what they have (the things they acquire and own), and third, who they know (the associations they have made). These become the criteria which establish or determine self-identity. With this being true, it's easy to see how individuals develop a flawed sense of identity. These criteria focus on the individual and their perceptions of themselves and how they view life and although these criteria contribute to developing one's personality, contrary to popular opinion personality does not determine identity!
Thankfully, the truth is our identity is not formed based upon abilities, materialistic possessions, personal associations, or perceptions about ourselves or life in general. The truth is, our identity does not focus on us as the source of who we are despite the humanistic, psychological, and sociological promotion of us being the center of the universe. This idea excludes God as the intelligent designer. Developing a healthy identity is not about loving oneself, accepting oneself, and thinking well of oneself. It’s not about 'self' at all! Our humanity has a spirit-core which identifies us and this is not based on what we do, what we have, or who we know. It is based on who we are joined to spiritually - God or satan. The core of our identity is established at the spirit level, which is the essence of who we really are. Our spiritual union determines our identity.
