[843 acres] Identity Politics

“I’m a Democrat.” ”I’m a Republican.” “I’m straight.” “I’m gay.” “I’m a runner.” “I’m a swimmer.” “I’m smart.” “I’m pretty.”

“I am a new creation in Christ Jesus.”

The last statement, I hope, stands alone.

In the Sunday New York Times Magazine, Benoit Denizet-Lewis reports on a growing trend among middle-school students of announcing their sexual identities. Denizet-Lewis, himself a gay man, finds himself interviewing young teenagers who are proclaiming themselves gay, straight, and bisexual with remarkable confidence. He writes, “The effect was initially surreal to me, and before long I heard myself blurt out, ‘But you’re so young!’” (Coming Out in Middle School). There are obvious concerns with kids as young as ten declaring their sexual identities, but as Christians, there is a more disturbing underlying issue raised by this report.

Our identity as human beings is not based in our sexual preferences, nor in our political affiliations, nor in our athletic accomplishments. Our identity is bestowed upon us, as human beings created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Furthermore, as Christians, our identity is an identity in Christ, not in our human accomplishments, desires, or abilities. Paul writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) . He also exhorts the Galatians to get past their various self-defining identities and understand that Christ has come to break through barriers: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

We live in an increasingly sexualized world, a world in which people increasingly seek to self-identify. My hope and prayer, for middle-schoolers on up, is that we would identify ourselves as belonging to God, as adopted sons and daughters, as women and men “in Christ Jesus.” All the rest is secondary.

[843 acres] To Sacrifice or Not to Sacrifice?

Upon President Obama’s election last November, First Lady Michelle Obama declared to the nation that her primary role in the White House would be as “Mom-In-Chief”. Caring for her daughters was her focus as they transitioned between schools, moved into the White House and became the media sweethearts.

Recently she shared her advice on motherhood in an interview with Prevention magazine, which is scheduled to hit newsstands in November. The First Lady said, “[B]eing a good mother isn’t all about sacrificing. It’s really investing and putting yourself higher on your priority list.” She urged women to make their decisions based on how they would be affected. Do what makes you happy, she suggested. [Baltimore Sun, Michelle Obama aims to 'make me happy,' says it ripples and benefits kids, husband, her health]

This guideline on how to live our lives seems like a paradigm shift. Haven’t we been taught to put others first? Yes, because that’s precisely what Jesus did. Paul says in Ephesians 5:1-2, 21, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God,” and also charges us to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Similarly, Paul also admonishes us in Romans 12:3 about thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought.

We have a Father whose parenting philosophy is diametrically opposed to that presented as Mrs. Obama’s. Our heavenly Father provided the ultimate sacrifice by allowing His Son to die on the cross for the sins of His children.

Which philosophy will you adopt?

[Morning Walk] What Counts Is a New Creation: Galatians 6

Today’s Readings: 1 Kings 2, Galatians 6

In this passage, Paul compares two mindsets: one that exalts self and one that exalts God.

Of the mindset that exalts self, Paul writes:

Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. NIV.

According to Paul, these legalists have two motives: (1) to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ, and (2) to boast about the Galatian church’s “obedience” were they to “obey” the strict laws. In other words, they fear the loss of human affection and they love the increase of human praise. Such a mindset cannot embrace the cross of Christ because the cross puts the Christian in the path of persecution and it puts an end to pride.

Of the mindset that exalts God, Paul writes:

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.

The new creation is what exists when the mindset that exalts self has died. This new creation “boasts” in the cross – rather than a merely intellectually assenting to the cross, it relies on the cross. This mindset has two aspects: (1) it crucifies the world to us, and (2) it crucifies us to the world. Everything that this world offers is “rubbish” compared with knowing Christ.

Which mindset are you?