Living Changed: IdentitySample

Compensating

We live in a world where everything boasts of being life-altering. Commercials aim to convince us that even soap can change our lives. But nothing alters our lives the way a God-rooted identity does. 

When we live with a false identity, compensating becomes the name of the game. We compensate by hiding our true selves, indulging in addictions, keeping busy, or controlling people and our surroundings. Walls are built to hide insecurities, lies are told to hide mistakes, and gossip is spread to fight off rejection. We’ll do anything to mask the pain of the lies we have come to believe.

Growing up, I was goofy, witty, and blunt. But I hid those parts of me believing they were too different. I compensated by attempting to control circumstances and conversations around me to create an image of confidence. For a few brief moments, pretending did help me feel better about who I was.

This is exactly where Satan wants all of us—hidden and insecure, living a life based on a false identity. He wants us to see ourselves through the eyes of hurt and rejection, constantly striving to feel better about ourselves. He wants God’s truth to become blurry so that we allow image, possessions, people, performance, and past experiences to define our lives. This is not the way God wants us to live. We must start accepting how God created us. Own it. Even begin to love it.  

No amount of compensating will fill the sadness, fear, or doubt created by a false identity. No striving. No success. No acceptance. Only Christ Himself. 

How are you compensating for the ways you feel you don’t measure up? 

How have you let the opinions of others determine your steps? 

How can you lean into God to become truly fulfilled?