Identity Theft

I am a man (or a little boy in an oversized body). I am a husband. I am a father. I am a Pastor. I am a friend. I am a son. I am a brother. I am a chaplain. I am an employee. I am a manager. I am a counselor. I am a follower of Christ. I am a leader. I am a cousin. I am an uncle. I am a driver. I am a Facebooker and a Twitterer. I am (or used to be) an athlete. I am called Brad, Pastor Brad, Kelcey’s dad, Jordan’s dad, Tammy’s husband, Chaplain, Coach, Hey you, Who are you, Pastor Dad, Mr. Bryant, and my personal favorite, Hey Hottie (actually, no one calls me that but I am hoping Tammy will soon)!

Make your own list. It’s kinda fun. It can be revealing also. I could continue the list but thinking hard makes my head hurt and lately it hasn’t needed much help. When you make a list like this it can show you why people lose their identity so often. What I mean is that people forget who they really are because of all the people they think they have to be.  

I have broken my identity down based on priorities and of course I want to share (You may not be interested but if you’ve read this far then it’s an awfully boring Monday at work or maybe you need to read this).

Priority Numero Uno: Follower of Christ. Or, as is more accepted, Christian. But not in the historical, traditional, politically correct terms. I mean priority one is to be “Christ-like”. Not just have the title but occupy the office of a Christian. Christ loved everybody. I’m trying. Christ handed out grace like the little guy at the food court in the mall hands out samples. Anybody walking by gets some. “Ahhhhhh, you likey chicken? Have some!” Christ was selfless. His decisions were made for a greater cause than his wellbeing, social status, or financial gain.

Number two: Husband. No question. My relationship with my wife is paramount to everything except my relationship with Christ. She is my world. Her smile makes me smile no matter what. Her kiss makes my body melt. When she is happy the world is in order. We are connected on such a deep level we know each other. When she is close to me I have to touch her. When we lay in bed I always touch her. Doesn’t matter where, I just want to feel her skin on mine. No, not in that way (at least not all the time). I just want to, have to, touch her.

Number three: Father, dad, daddy, pops, big papi, padre, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s coming from Kelcey or Jordan I will answer. They are mine and Tammy’s greatest accomplishment but the older they get we feel God had much more to do with them than we did. I will always protect, push, love, respect, lead, and inspire them. I will be an example of what they should expect a man to be. If I miss it as a dad, I have missed it big time. I will strive to live my life with no regret in my relationship with them.

And that’s the list.

“Whoa, what about all those other things on your list?”

I’m glad you asked. That’s the beauty of having number one be number one. It sorts life out. Everything in my list is affected by number one and not the other way around. For example, my relationship with Christ affects how I treat my wife and my kids. My relationship with Christ affects how I function on the job. My relationship with Christ affects everything.

We get turned around when priorities get turned around. For example, for some people, their relationship with Christ is affected by their relationship with their spouse. If they’re fighting, they don’t pray and assume Christ doesn’t care about them. Or they may allow their job to dictate who they are instead of Christ. Instead of being an attorney that is also a follower of Christ, you should be a follower of Christ that happens to be an attorney (or doctor, or policeman/woman, or cashier, or whatever it is that you do).

I know, you think it’s just words but honestly it so much more than just the order of the words. It’s the order of your heart.

Proverbs 4:23 says it best, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

So! Who are you? What are you? What do you want to be? Where do you want to go? Look at your heart. It’s already mapping out your future. Make Christ the King of your heart (Numero Uno) and see what He has planned!

Whew! That’s deep for a Monday, huh?

Pastor Dad