Living Lessons on IdentitySample

Part Two: The Soul: where we think, feel and choose

The soul is where we think, feel and choose. It is our personality; the place where we interact with others. The soul is damaged by things that happened to us when we were growing up. The mind believes lies about who we are and who God is; the feelings we have are extreme and/or stuck in immaturity, and our wills can be stubborn and selfish. This is the part that God works on to help us grow and relate better. For example, many people have grown up being told that they are stupid, clumsy, ugly, worthless, inadequate or unwanted. These messages can be given verbally and non-verbally. However these messages are given to us, they wound us. We believe they are true, when God says they are not true.

I have talked to many people through the years like Ann and John. Ann grew up in a home that was full of anger and chaos. Ann’s mother blamed some of her struggles on Ann and often said, “I wish you had never been born.” On the other hand, John was not told bluntly that he was a problem, but because there was no room for failure in his family, John believed he was worthless and could not do anything right. Some children are just ignored and neglected; others are outright abused. These are examples of wounds to the soul that lead to believing the opposite of what God says about His beloved, delighted in, valuable, wanted children.

Application: 

Think about some of the ways your soul has been damaged in ways that make it hard for you to believe your identity in Christ. Read the last sentence and think about how you are His beloved. You are delighted in. You are valuable. You are wanted. Tomorrow we will look at the body part of the spirit-soul-body and tie it all together concerning your identity in Christ.