thought for the week

WHO do you think you are?

It’s a question that demands an answer from every one of us. Who we are, how we view ourselves and how others perceive us can be an increasingly compelling obsession.

There is hardly a week that passes without a story in the news about someone who has felt attacked, condemned, or unfairly criticised on social media. Recently it was Tilly Ramsay, one of this year’s Strictly stars who spoke out against personal comments directed at her.

There is a deep need in us all for self-worth, security and happiness and these are intrinsically linked to our identity.

For many people identity is rooted in achievement or in performance.

Or maybe in possessions and the recognition of having certain trappings of success like cars, houses or money. For others; and in our current climate of overwhelming online presence it’s hardly surprising, identity is becoming alarmingly linked to the belief that ‘I am what other people think of me.’

There’s a problem in all of these areas because they can all be lost, destroyed or taken away. There will always be someone who performs better, acquires more or is getting more likes on Facebook.

As a Christian I believe that God made each one of us in his own image, that he tells us we are worthy because he allowed his son to die in our place.

No longer is my identity a fragile, unreliable thing, tossed about by every change in life, but it’s fixed, sure and unshakeable,

So do you know who you really are?

Maybe it’s worth checking out what the one who made you says and listening to him rather than the many who can only ever know you imperfectly. Karen Sadler.