Who are you becoming?
A lot of our conversations and understanding revolve around the idea of what we are doing. How are you doing? What are you doing? What are you going to do about it? How do I do this? What do I do? And there isn't anything inherently wrong but it misses the bigger picture.
Another question we need to ask ourselves is who are we becoming? Or in a metaphorical sense, where are we going?
A simple analogy would be imagery of someone rowing a boat in an ocean. If you look at what they are doing, they could be rowing with perfect form and great effort but if they aren't intentionally navigating where they are going they could be rowing perfectly in the wrong direction. Or they may know where they are going but not have the rowing ability to get there.
So when we look at our lives, our rowing is our daily actions, or habits, the destination is who we become overtime.
So here are examples,
Someone who works very hard 12+ hours everyday building a business making sales may be satisfied in the work each day and find value in what they are doing but if the continue to “row” this way every day for the rest of their life their destination becomes a workaholic that didn't prioritize family, rest, and joy. It could be an unhappy multimillionaire with kids who resent him.
Someone whose daily habits may look bad when it comes to “rowing”. They dont work hard at their job, they dont take care of their health, they don't seek to grow in wisdom or ability. They may know their destination but lack the rowing abilities or discipline to get there. Everyone wants to be successful but lacks the daily habits to achieve it. Whatever, “success” might be.
The key is to be able to understand both aspects. Defining your daily habits with the end in mind. Your daily habits should reflect the person you want to become. These actions become an identity shift. You habits determine who you are. They determine your identity over time.
On the Organizational Level
This isn't a new concept. From the organizational perspective, Jocko Willink, military leader and leadership consultant, discusses this in depth with the verbiage of strategy versus tactics. Strategy is the overarching, long-term plan or vision for achieving a major goal, while tactics are the specific, short-term actions and methods used to execute that strategy; strategy answers "what" and "why," while tactics focus on the "how," with strategy providing the direction and tactics being the concrete steps to get there, like winning the war (destination, i.e becoming the victor) versus winning battles (rowing, i.e day to day actions).
The major significance is in applying this depth of planning to your life right now. Look at the last week of your life and multiply that by the rest of your life. Where do those daily and weekly habits lead you? Do they lead to someone who becomes the person you want to be?
There is a book called “Take Back Your Family” by Jefferson Bethke that discusses if something is important in your life it will be in your weekly rhythm. Visiting and seeing family, working out, reading, learning, eating at the dinner table, dating your spouse, investing, playing, resting, going to church, etc. When prioritized regularly, these habits form who you are.
Results aren't random. You don't end up at a destination randomly. It's a culmination of all of the things you did and didn't do over time.
A Biblical Perspective
The Biblical perspective is actually inverted in this newsletter. Earlier I stated that our actions and habits determine identity but in Christianity our identity determines our habits. Let me explain.
The essence of Christianity is summarized into making a decision to stop living for ourselves and start living for God. This typically happens when we realize the way we have been living, though for ourselves, is ironically not good for us. Other definitions of this could be living for the world or living for the flesh. However, even when we start living for God we are still not worthy to be in Heaven because by definition it is a perfect place and we are not perfect. But Jesus lived a perfect life for us and suffered the ultimate evil for us on our behalf. So a God who is perfect in his justice has the perfect payment, or atonement, so that the un-perfect has been made perfect. We can be worthy because of him.
A simple analogy: the most expensive sports ticket was $1.17 million for 2016 World Series, Game 7: Cubs vs. Indians according to a quick google search. There is nothing I could do to ever afford a ticket like that but if someone bought me that ticket then I am worthy of going because someone else paid the price. So how would my actions change after getting that ticket? I would be eternally grateful and joyful and do whatever I could for that person because of the gift.
A big misconception of Christianity is that it is solely behavior modification. Which it isn't. It's not sin management. It's not solely designed to make people live better. However, that is an effect of it. Heaven isn't full of perfect people or even good people, it's full of forgiven people. It's full of people who put their faith in Jesus and were forgiven and redeemed by Him alone.
Christianity is an instant identity shift. Think of it like a man becoming a husband in marriage. Once he becomes a husband he begins acting like a husband. He doesn't date other women, he focuses more of his time, effort and energy on his wife. He begins to serve her and lead her. He starts doing certain things and stops doing other things because he is now a Husband.
Whether we feel like a husband or not, mess up, fall short, make mistakes it doesn't change our status as a husband. But because of our new focus we can become more husbandly.
The Christian walk is similar. Once we begin to follow Jesus and become a Christian our status changes. Regardless of how we feel, act, do or don't do, we are considered a Saint which means Holy by being forgiven and saved. But because of our status we try to become more like Jesus over time which involves doing things differently.
The book “Ran Over by the Grace Train" by Joby Martin can be summarized by someone who experiences and understands the grace and freedom that God has given us will undoubtedly be changed and there will be evidence of it. He uses the analogy if someone gets hit by a train there would be crystal clear evidence that it happened. He argues that the Grace of God is infinitely more powerful therefore would have more evidence in someone's life. Obviously, not the same type of evidence.
There are so many stories of this in the Bible, Jesus has so many first hand accounts of healing people, those who are sick, dead, blind or broken, then because they are healed they are began to rejoice, cheer, and celebrate then go and tell others how amazing this Jesus guy is and how he healed them.
Not only is this just in God’s nature to love and heal His creation but it depicts the spiritual healing and gives us an analogy that we can better understand.
A good friend of mine runs a social media account called "Identity in Christ Daily” which is full of explaining this concept and I highly recommend checking it out.
So when it comes to Christianity, it's not about working to God, it's about seeking the relationship with God and letting Him work in you. Our actions and works matter, yes. But it is a result of our shift in identity. We are not saved by works, we are saved for works. The Grace of God Changes Everything.
Cam,