But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
- John 1:12-13
Have you ever wondered why or how identity became such a big issue in American society today? I do. How hard is it to know who you are? I mean, when I was born, it was to two particular people and one particular brother (my sister arriving after I did), but as soon as I was born, I was the daughter of those two people and sister of that boy. In addition, I was born at a precise location that shared a common language in a defined geographical area with its own distinct narrower culture inside a larger national culture. Weren’t you born someplace to some people with some pre-established relationships, both immediate and extended, into some predetermined cultural influences? Weren’t we all? Aren’t we still born into an identity?
Why is identity such a big deal today? And it is a big deal. Identity is also a growing edge for the American church, an occasion to remember who we are and to bear witness to this generation of a better way.
We didn’t arrive at this hyper-individualistic state of self-identification overnight. There were factors that made it possible for us to shed the external markers that have historically given people a sense of identity and a place of belonging – markers such as mentioned above. By the time we reached the twenty-first century, individuals now hold no obligation to past or future, no allegiance to nation or cohesive culture, and no requisite conformity to family or faith. Such cultural assignment belongs to a brutal past that failed to appreciate the remarkable character of the unique individual. Freed of the societal imposition of identity, the individual is loosed to become whoever one desires to be, whoever the essential kernel of self demands to be. Not unsurprisingly, in the exaltation of the individual, we witness the decline of civilization and the disorientation and misery of isolation in the crowd. Loneliness has never been a more common malady than it is today. The predefined identity of birth has not been as brutal to persons as is the isolation and misery of self-determination.
The burden of having to determine who one is, uniquely and markedly singular in individuality, is enormous. That is why the issue of identity or identification (“identify as…”) is irrefutable in the public square. Having made the monumental decision of who one is individually, no one else can bring that into question, for each individual is wholly invested in his/her decision. If you have ever questioned why we seem to have lost our sense of humor, this is part of the reason. Having made the monumental decision of who one is to be requires that no one ever question the decision or suggest that it is mistaken or misguided. Choosing one’s identity is a serious business with no room for error, and once the decision is made, any hint of mockery is a deeply personal attack. Being one’s own self-determined individual is an exhausting and demanding endeavor.
For all that we accept the rightness of individuality, we are mistaken. This won’t end well for any of us. We are much more malleable if we're detached from all that makes us who we are. Human beings are social creatures. We are not intended to live in isolation, nor are we intended to be independent of others. Human beings need community and belonging, and the last hundred years has seen the systematic destruction of the most basic and fundamental structure of human communion.
The dissolution of the family began when we decided that caring for the aged, for our parents and grandparents, was the task of the government, not the responsibility of children and grandchildren. This idea is so deeply ingrained in American society that we take for granted that our elders should be prepared to take care of themselves until death because we are busy preparing for our post-retirement years, guesstimating how long we will live, and the cost of providing for ourselves.
The next step in the demise of the family came in the form of the “Great Society” with its war on poverty, government insurance for healthcare (Medicare and Medicaid), federal funds for housing for the poor, and so forth. Whatever the intent and however benevolent it sounded, the effect was to remove fathers from families and to teach women dependence upon the government for support of the family.
In a conversation with a colleague some years ago, I pointed out that Jesus told His disciples to “heal the sick and feed the hungry.” He did not tell His disciples to have the Roman government do those things. My colleague agreed with the general sentiment, but wasn’t opposed to the government helping out. Only… the government does not help out. The government rules, meaning it takes over these aspects of our lives. We do not have to have a theory of nefarious power-hungry rich people plotting over caviar at some ritzy resort to know that people with control over others are inclined toward abuse. History is littered with examples. But I digress…
Once family life no longer required fathers and women were freed to pursue lives individually, children became a choice not a gift. This was facilitated by both birth control and abortion laws. Women could become supremely themselves without ties or restrictions, and the choice of life or death for children conceived as a consequence of women’s freedom was the decision of the woman alone. Thus, for children who made it from conception to birth, life could be and often was and is construed as conditional upon the mother’s wishes. This effectively gave children the position of augmenting the mother’s sense of self. Such being the case, as children became adults and sought identity, there was no clear place of belonging and no obvious source of identity except to look within themselves. That was the example of the family into which children were born, if not physically then psychologically, as mothers or parents pursued their own interests with children as the contingent extensions either enriching or distracting the quality of the adult’s individual life.
Finally, technology has made it possible for an individual to establish vital relationships with others without ever coming face to face with the person. One can be part of a community online without having to compromise over what is for dinner or who does the laundry. Daily life can be measured in photos and memes and value established by the number of likes. Now, medical technology is promising the isolated individual that he or she can become whatever is desired, irrespective of the most basic realities of human life.
Kind of harsh assessment, is it not? Yet, with just a little nuance, we can see the unfolding disintegration of the family and the corresponding rise of the individual in practical terms. The intellectual framework for hyper-individualism was introduced at least two centuries ago before the fruits of individualism became more apparent. What stood between the original philosophical individuality and its full implementation two hundred years later was Christian life and faith.
Christianity, with its emphases on the family of God and the community of faith as the Body of Christ in the world, as well as its inherited biblical morality, is what held the family together and established identity for believers. The battered Christian wall between meaning and purpose and the despairing pointlessness of nihilism is on the verge of collapse, and it remains to be seen whether Christianity can speak clearly enough to our imploding culture to call the dying to life in Jesus Christ.
People seek individual identity because they believe it is their right and responsibility. But the weight of giving your own life its meaning and purpose is so great it bends and warps the soul. When we look at the anger and vitriol of popular culture, what we are seeing is a people who are desperate to be recognized for who they are because they have chosen an identity and have nothing else. A part of nothing, attached to nothing, belonging to nothing, all create nothingness of being. This nothingness of being is so widely experienced that many would now have us believe melding humans with machines is the next logical step. The idea is that we will become more by being less human.
We’re moving in the wrong direction. Human life comes from God. Made in His image, every human being’s life is chosen before they are born – chosen to be loved, chosen as precious, chosen to belong. To be sure, we possess the freedom to reject God, and Heaven knows, we have done so flagrantly and unashamedly. We would do better if we could admit this isn’t working out well. Still, the love of God does not vary or alter at all. Continually, steadfastly, and determinedly, He seeks us with grace and mercy and calls us to life in Him.
The message of the church to contemporary society should be an invitation to be loved to life, to be fully human as we can only be in Christ as a member of His Body in communion with others. People need to know that God knew them when He formed them in the womb and that He has plans and purpose for those who come to Him, plans and purpose that are for blessing and good. Into the emptiness of the isolated individual, the Gospel speaks the promise of fullness of joy to those who turn to Christ. He has sought them every day and seeks them still – not to condemn but to come to life as a beloved child born of God.
The answer to the human condition, to the sin that plagues every human soul, and to the evil that actively works to destroy, is Jesus Christ. He is unchanging and infallible whatever the fads of a generation or culture may be. His love is everlasting and infinite, and He can bring forth good and blessing no matter the circumstances. As Christians, we too must turn to Christ again, to seek Him ever more deeply together with the fellowship of believers. What the world has torn apart, Christ can knit together as His Body in the family of our Father.
The real pandemic of our time is loneliness and the hopelessness of nihilism. The Gospel is the cure – the family of God possesses the strength and power to love people to life and hope. Let us begin to live – or improve and enhance our life – in true communion as brothers and sisters of Christ, as children of the Father born of His Spirit. This is something our world needs desperately, and this is something we can be intentional about cultivating and offering to others.
Wherever we’ve been and whatever we’ve done, the possibility of beginning anew as a child born of God is ever-present. The capacity to give love is correlated directly to the ability to receive love, and the only perfect and unfailing love is that of our God. Being born of the Spirit of God into our Father’s family gives us an identity that far exceeds any we can imagine for ourselves, and whatever our circumstances, in Christ we have hope for tomorrow. Good is yet to come.
In Christ –
Rev. Elizabeth Moreau
© 2024
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