The TMP Podcast
I Am What I Do | Paul Walker | Identity Theft
One recent Harvard study found that one of the most asked questions in new social interactions is: What do you do?” The study found that “What do you do” has become synonymous with “Who are you?” Without thinking about it, many of us can attempt to find our identity through our work, relationships, productivity, and achievements. If we do well, or at least make it look as if we’re doing well, we receive a healthy identity as someone whom others recognize is successful, and that will make us feel good about ourselves. But if we do badly, that identity can come crashing down and be replaced by an identity of someone who is a failure. Our work and our achievements are good things, but they are a poor foundation for our self worth & self understanding. We need to rediscover th truth that you are not what you do because what you do can always be taken away or lost. But who you are is the source of all you do. When what we do becomes an expression of who we are, not an effort to secure who we are, we find a new level of freedom and confidence. After completing the work of creating the heavens and earth, God rested on the seventh day, and tells his image bearers to do the same. In the Sabbath, God is calling us out of a world trying to prove its worth and value by what it does or possesses. We are deeply loved by God for who we are, not for what we do.
One recent Harvard study found that one of the most asked questions in new social interactions is: What do you do?” The study found that “What do you do” has become synonymous with “Who are you?” Without thinking about it, many of us can attempt to find our identity through our work, relationships, productivity, and achievements. If we do well, or at least make it look as if we’re doing well, we receive a healthy identity as someone whom others recognize is successful, and that will make us feel good about ourselves. But if we do badly, that identity can come crashing down and be replaced by an identity of someone who is a failure. Our work and our achievements are good things, but they are a poor foundation for our self worth & self understanding. We need to rediscover th truth that you are not what you do because what you do can always be taken away or lost. But who you are is the source of all you do. When what we do becomes an expression of who we are, not an effort to secure who we are, we find a new level of freedom and confidence. After completing the work of creating the heavens and earth, God rested on the seventh day, and tells his image bearers to do the same. In the Sabbath, God is calling us out of a world trying to prove its worth and value by what it does or possesses. We are deeply loved by God for who we are, not for what we do.