Identity Crisis

I remember hearing the term "identity crisis" as a kid and wondering what the heck it meant. The psychologist Erikkson said that an identity crisis occurs when something threatens a person's idea of their own sameness. Basically, something happens to a person that threatens how they see themselves. I never really gave it much thought until I came to law school. It was here that I realized that an identity crisis can cause otherwise good people to behave in a way that is completely contrary to their character. There are several examples, but I will stick with sports. In the intramural basketball league of which I took part my first year, there was a fight broken up in all but one game I played in. I was dumbfounded at why people at an exclusively Christian school would behave in such a way, and then it dawned on me. Most of the people here in law school are used to "winning" at things, maybe at everything, and many of them have in their own perception of being "winners." To threaten that is to cause incredible anxiety inside that person which inevitably leads to unsavory results. I saw evidence of this phenomenon in every aspect of life from the classroom to social situations and beyond. I don't have all the answers, but it seems pretty clear in this case. The world will tell you that you aren't important unless you look like A, B, or C, or you can do X, Y, or Z, but those are complete lies that even Christ followers can be sucked into. The truth is, your complete value flows from your identity as a child of God and a friend of Jesus Christ. Nothing else matters. It sounds simple, but apparently difficult to accomplish. The world can be persuasive and it tends to yell at us while Christ prefers to whisper. However, the volume doesn't matter if you only listen to Him.