The world says that winning more business, moving up the corporate ladder, moving up the pay scale – essentially what you DO is more important than WHO you are. That is completely backward! As far as our identity goes, God says, “WHO we are is more important than WHAT we DO.”
God is far more concerned about your character than he is your career. Some of you might be thinking, “Thank goodness!” Now, God still cares about your career, but He’s more concerned about who you are.
God didn’t wire us to build our identity, our foundation, and who we are on things that shake and sway – things like our careers, winning and losing, the size of our homes, how many awards we’ve won, etc. Under enough pressure, these things will sway, and eventually, they will crumble.
Now, these things aren’t bad, in fact, most of these things are good. But at the end of the day, they cannot hold up to the pressure that we will face in this life. Material or carnal things weren’t designed for that, and we as humans were not designed to build our foundation on them.
In the story in Matthew 7:24-27, both houses were caught in the storm. One collapsed and the other did not. What was the difference? The foundation. One used sand and the other rock. So, what is the foundation? The passage starts by saying, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.”
Build Your Identity on the Teachings of Jesus Christ
What Jesus taught us is our foundation. Who you are has everything to do with who your foundation is built on. Is it built on you and what you do? Don’t be like the foolish person who built their house on sand – their career, winning and losing – because the storms will come!
Build your house on the sure foundation, the bedrock… Jesus. Here are three simple action steps to help you start following the teachings of Jesus.
- Start Reading the Bible – Jesus’ teachings are all throughout the Bible.
- Find a Spirit-Led Mentor – Mentors help other people follow the teachings of Jesus.
- Join a Biblically-Sound Huddle – Huddles are small groups of individuals who study the teachings of Jesus together.
These three things will help you work on your identity, who you are becoming, and who your foundation is built on. WHO you are is far more important than what you DO. Think about it.
So, What’s The Play Call?
- Name one way in which you’ve built your foundation solely on what you do.
- What intimidates you about following the teachings of Jesus and building your foundation on Him and why?
- Of the three action steps, which one do you need to take and when will you do it?