The Pillar of Who

The Pillar of Who deals with who we are, how we think about ourselves, our identity. Let's explore why this is so important.

As we saw in the story, we hear many voices that say things about us. Voices from the past, from parents, teachers, friends and more. We also hear voices that are speaking to us all the time. The main voice we hear is our own — we call this self-talk. For most of us, what we hear is pretty negative.

As an example, when we make a mistake, we say to ourselves, "You idiot", or something like that. We often add to that something more, "You are always an idiot." Our subconscious, our heart, takes this in and it reaffirms that we are really an idiot. So, the next time we face a similar activity, we expect to make a mistake because that is what idiots do.

If we have heard the same thing from both ourselves and others, we believe it, for it must be true since that is what everyone says. Note how we are now believing that everyone says that about us, even though that isn't true.

One way people try to overcome this is by making declarations, believing that just saying positive things about ourselves will change the way we are. Although there is some truth to this technique it falls short since we are saying this about ourselves and, really, since we believe we are an idiot, what do we know! The real me has been completely buried by all the negative things said about me and reinforced each time I make a mistake or fail at something.

So how do we discover who we really are?

The first is to find some authority, outside of ourselves, that knows us and we can rely on telling us the truth. As the story told us, there is just such a person, who loves us, knows us intimately, and wants to help us.

The first step is for us to acknowledge that we need help and ask for it, just like Ellie, Faith, Tyler and Nickolas did in the story. The King is just waiting for us to ask. Joshua/Jesus quickly responds to our plea for help. Jesus accepts us into his family right when we ask and he is the one who will guide us through the pillars.

The first step in the process is to reveal what is true about everyone in his family. He has given us the Bible which tells us these things:

• Child, son, daughter
• Friend
• Ambassador
• Priest
• Prince/Princess

The next step is learning who each of us are — the unique "me". Ask Jesus and write down what you sense him saying to you. Revisit this from time to time as he makes it clearer for you.

Once you start gathering how Jesus sees you, you can use those as declarations. Here's a start:

• I am a child of the King
• I am an ambassador
• I am a prince/princess of the King
• Paraclete (Holy Spirit) leads and guides me
• I am creative