You're probably wondering how these 2 things go together!
Recently, I was a victim of identity theft. Someone had gotten ahold of my debit card information and made some rather large purchases from WalMart.com.
Only one of the purchases actually cleared my bank account, the others were caught and cancelled before hand. The one that cleared, I was able to dispute and it all worked out fine. I did, of course, have to cut up my debit card and now I wait (impatiently) for a new one.
I felt a little betrayed that someone used me.
Uneasy that someone had gotten my information.
Angry that they were charging their stuff to me rather than work for it themselves.
A lot of emotions ran through my veins.
Then God brought to my attention that I tolerate Identity Theft every single day.
Main Entry: iden·ti·ty
Pronunciation: \ī-ˈden-tə-tē
the distinguishing character or personality of an individual
Main Entry: theft
Pronunciation: \ˈtheft\
the felonious taking and removing of personal property with intent to deprive the rightful owner of it
Identity Theft - taking and removing the distinguishing character or personality of an individual with intent to deprive the rightful owner of it.
If what the Word says is true, then we are ROYALTY! We are joint heirs with Jesus, Queens and Kings, you and I!
How often do we act like that? How often does the enemy steal our identity?
How often do we allow friends and co-workers to rob us of our identity?
We need to remember who we are in Christ. Our identity is taken everyday, with our permission. We don't fuss or feel hurt. We allow it. Sometimes, we give it away willingly.
We get so hung up on the small things, we forget about the big picture.
It saddens me when I think about all the little things I do that keep me from behaving as Royalty. All the little things I allow to creep in and spoil my witness.
1 Corinthians 5:6
Your flip and callous arrogance in these things bothers me. You pass it off as a small thing, but it's anything but that. Yeast, too, is a "small thing," but it works its way through a whole batch of bread dough pretty fast. So get rid of this "yeast." Our true identity is flat and plain, not puffed up with the wrong kind of ingredient. The Messiah, our Passover Lamb, has already been sacrificed for the Passover meal, and we are the Unraised Bread part of the Feast. So let's live out our part in the Feast, not as raised bread swollen with the yeast of evil, but as flat bread—simple, genuine, unpretentious.
What is your true identity? Puffed up with arrogance, pride, full of gossip? Or simple, humble, thankful with a servant's heart? Don't let appearances fool you. Things that look good on the outsite can be full of ungodly things on the inside. The things that are best for us, don't always look pretty and appealing!
