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Identity
Theft
2004’s World Changers theme was Claim
Your Identity. As I ponder my identity with Christ I wonder how
many people have stolen God’s identity to use for their
personal gain.
Many
churchgoers attend so they can be identified as a member of a
certain church. They put religion and doctrine above the life,
which God has called us to. They can talk the talk, but have
never walked the walk. Jesus spoke of how the Pharisees knew the
law, but did not follow their own teachings.
MATTHEW
23
1Then
Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2"The
teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3So
you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not
do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
Some
Sunday school teachers teach for the sole reason that they can
say they teach Sunday school. Some teach only because they have
been asked to, still others teach in a grade level where their
children are. These people are stealing Gods identity to serve
their own purpose. They act as an independent entity not as one
who is being nourished by the vine.
People
want to be recognized for what they do instead of giving the
glory to God. Many people serve on committees so they can have
their say or get what they feel is the best thing for the
church.
Many
want the pat on the back from people; they have no desire to
wait to receive their heavenly reward. We all have an innate
desire for approval from others; some will go to any extreme to
get the attention they seek.
Many
want to be identified with God only when they are around
Christians, but once away from the church building they don’t
even have a slight resemblance to a Christian. They have stolen
Gods identity and are pretending to be a follower, yet their
actions in no way line up with their speech.
We
have three characters:
1.
The Character we exhibit.
2.
The Character we think we have.
3.
The Character we do have.
The
character we exhibit
does not always align with the character we think we have. Good
examples are the Christian symbols we have on our vehicles. How
many times have you been cut off by a driver that has a
Christian symbol or bumper sticker on their vehicle? How many
times have you saw or heard someone who went to church regularly
and professed to be a Christian act rude or speak sarcastically
to some one?
The
Character we think we have is
not always the character we posses. Often we think because we
attend church on a regular basis we are of good character. This
is not always true; most people who attend church do not
practice what they learn. Many are prone to go out of habit,
sometime just because their spouse attends, or even to set a
good example for their children. Some attend for the knowledge,
but never put it to use in their daily life.
Many
have come to believe their socio-economic status reflects their
character; not true, most have compromised their beliefs to get
to the status they have. They have put their status in society
in front of their faithfulness and obedience to God. Many truly
believe God has blessed them through what they have, when all
they have done is to lay up treasure that will be left behind
when they leave this earth.
The
Character we do have can
be a combination of the one we exhibit and the one we think we
have.
One
thing is certain, the
Character we do have is the one we show to the world
on an everyday basis, and if it is not a Christlike
example you may be one of those who have stolen Christ's identity.
As
Christians we need to make the three characters align with one another.
Clyde
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