Creating Man: Gifts for the Adventurous Sample

Identity

When Adam was created, he was given a unique gift from God. This gift would help him carry out the task that God would give him.

Genesis 2:19-20 (NIV)

19 Now, the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

God created legions of animals. However, each animal was lacking the same thing - its name. Every day, God would bring a group of animals to Adam, and Adam would use his gift of giving identity to each creature.

Each creature presented itself before Adam. Perhaps Adam contemplated, and then he would create a unique name for each animal, be it giraffe, squirrel, or tiger. You see, Adam's gift was giving identity to others.

The other animals were back on the farm, so to speak, and if they could talk, they would say, "What's your name?” and they would have to say, "I don't know. The man hasn't named me yet."

You could tell there was an identity crisis on earth, and Adam was the solution to this crisis.

You see, as a man, you have a unique gift to give identity to those around you. You can encourage the men around you: “Great job.” “You're creative, innovative, and reliable.“ Take a moment. When was the last time you heard a man tell you something positive about yourself? If you can remember, how did you feel? Usually pretty good. Giving identity to others is also a critical gift to use in your marriage and family.

Your wife has a special place in her heart that only a husband can speak into. I have trained thousands of men to praise and speak identity into their wife. It's incredible how responsive a wife is to her husband when he consistently gives her praise and identity based on her positive attributes.

Your sons and daughters crave you giving them identity and praise. One of my major take-aways from my experience as a psychologist is this: If a man or woman had a great dad telling them they are capable, smart, gifted, loved, and special, their souls were much more resilient in any circumstance than a man or woman whose father did not intentionally give identity or praise to their child. That person aches for love as identity and is less resilient or confident in life.

As men, God created you to give identity to those around you. I encourage you to speak life to those around you. Use the gift God gave to you.

To learn more about the identity of man, CLICK HERE to watch Dr. Doug Weiss' "Men Make Men" video.