Everything in the universe has an identity. It is controversial to say with certainty who postulated the Law of Identity. Nevertheless, it is a powerful law, stating that “A=A”. The letter A can only be the letter A. It cannot be the letter B or C. Everything follows this same law. It must be what it is and can be nothing else.
That sounds like an obvious statement, but it is one that most people, including Christians, never think about or take advantage of once they realize its power. If you know the principle of identity, you can control much of your behavior naturally and with minimal effort. This is because not only do we have identities, but we strive to act in accordance with those identities at all times.
The principle of identity allows you to behave in specific ways without constantly having to make large decisions in your mind. Identity eliminates the need for arbitrary decision-making by giving you the answer to every decision in advance.
The man whose identity is one of a non-smoker knows exactly how he will respond every time he is offered a cigarette. The racks of cigarettes on the walls of the store melt into the background – he does not even notice them. They are not consistent with his identity.
One of the greatest human needs is the need to be consistent with one’s own identity. This is one of the greatest benefits of Christianity. It provides individuals with a perfectly clear-cut and well-defined definition of their identity. Every Christian does or should know exactly who they are, what they believe, where they are going, and what they are doing – because each of these things can be linked back to the identity of the Christian.
If you are a Christan, you have specific beliefs which you support with specific actions. You know how to behave and what is required of you if you have taken the time to firmly establish your identity and decide what you believe.
Clearly identifying yourself as a Christian makes it easier to live and make decisions because it eliminates the gray zones of spirituality. These gray zones are what make the philosophies of liberalism so problematic for personal discipline.
The philosophy of liberalism teaches that humans are essentially always going to fail, that sin is practically interwoven into human nature. So far, the philosophy is mostly true. Where it goes off track, however, is with its lackadaisical approach to sin.
Sin is considered to be inevitable, therefore, why fight against it? It is at that moment that the liberal philosophy, with all its good intentions, becomes very weak.
The identity of the liberal scoffs at and accepts sin. The spirit and identity of the hardcore Christian should be one of hatred of sin. The spartan Christian at all times possesses an extreme distaste for evil and self-imposes a rigorous standard of behavior. The normal Christian lives this way as well but is less extreme.
One of the benefits of a hardcore outlook on Christianity is its clearly defined identity.
With a clearly defined identity, choices increase in clarity as well. The difference between right and wrong is not blurred as it is with the philosophy of liberalism.
The person who is a world-class athlete became that way because he/she had a firmly established identity of who they were. They then backed up this identity with belief and efficient action in the direction of their goals. With the identity in place, it becomes more difficult to skip a day of training than it is to train. It is more difficult to cheat on their diet than to stay on the path of discipline.
Because as enjoyable as it would be to skip training or eat poorly, it simply does not align with their identity or with their long-term goals. The powerful pull of human nature to be consistent with the identity will allow them to stay disciplined and choose to train and eat correctly day after day after day.
That is the power of the principle of identity.
With Christianity, you have a natural identity that you can use to direct your life. On top of that, you can leverage the innate human need to be consistent with the self in order to motivate proper behavior.
Hypocrisy is not a natural state for human beings. Unless we are truly evil and self-motivated, we want to be consistent with ourselves. When we discover that we are not consistent with ourselves, we either go into denial, make excuses and rationalize, or we change our behavior to match our identity.
But notice that even excuses and rationalizations are attempts by human beings to change the definition of their behaviors so that they can stay consistent with their identity. If they can rationalize the sin, then they are still consistent with their Christian identity, even if only in their minds.
The more difficult path is to change the individual behavior instead of rationalizing it – and changing it to match the clearly established and defined personal identity.
It is also critical to include the clear-cut identity of sin. When we refuse to call sin what it is, we give it power. Because then eventually we lose the ability to differentiate between sin and good behavior. This is playing out to the detriment of all mankind at all times.
When you do not know that you should not pick up and play with venomous snakes, you end up picking one up and having it bite you in the face. Not because the snake was not dangerous, to begin with, but because you did not know the difference between a venomous and a non-venomous snake.
Ignorance and lack of ability to clearly identity danger can result in disastrous results. The same applies to sin. The inability to recognize and call out sin results in serial sin. If you do not know it is wrong, then what is to stop you from participating in that evil?
With a clearly defined identity, you give yourself the power to know exactly what behaviors are beneficial and which ones are not.
Also, with a clearly defined definition of sin, you give yourself the presence of mind to recognize evil for what it is and avoid it. You elevate your perspective as a general elevates his vision over the battlefield. With his enhanced viewpoint, detachment, and emotional control, he can make the most rational decisions possible. He can take advantage of terrain and the various strengths and weaknesses of his units. Without the understanding of the identity of his men, the identity of the enemy general, and the identity of the terrain, his battle would be disastrous.
You must take advantage of the principle of human identity when it comes to your own life. If you have a Christian identity, you already have the answer to many questions. You have a written and recorded standard of behavior in the Bible. Enclosed in its pages are the ways that you must behave as a human being. You no longer have to engage in the mentally arduous process of discerning moral truth. You can do that if you want, but you have the answers laid out already.
I am not encouraging you to avoid thinking for yourself and making your own decisions.
But many times people are placed in a situation where they do not know what to do, they have to answer those questions in the heat of the moment. That is not the best time to try to understand the underlying moral laws of the Bible. At that point, you simply need rapid decision-making.
Are you going to have sex with that woman or not? You have to decide in seconds, there is no time for moral and philosophical debate.
Are you going to drink to the point of drunkenness or not?
Do you steal or not?
You can work out the fine details of moral law later. But the war is coming for you.
And you will not have time to think about all those things in your soft, plush robe while reading your watered-down version of the Bible in your climate-controlled home on your day off from your cushy job. You will have to answer those questions in the heat of battle, with your sword drawn and your teeth clenched. At that moment you will rely on the strength of an identity carved in stone.
Without that identity, you will not know how to act. Without knowing how to act you will fail. Having your identity clearly defined and understood can prevent this from ever happening.
It allows you to engage in binary decision-making. Just answer yes or no. Every moral decision can be boiled down to a yes or no question that is simple to answer if your identity is established. If that identity is not established, you will be unsure and wavering. The unsure warrior loses his footing and falls. Do not place yourself in that position.
Conduct yourselves like men.
