Since the beginning of time, identity has been repetitively attacked. It’s impossible to reach your destiny without being secure in your identity. Satan knows this. As a result, he has made it his personal mission to attack every human being’s identity. In his craftiness, he often uses pain, trauma, abuse, and the words of others to accomplish his mission.
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Identity in the Garden
In the Garden, Adam and Eve had everything. With the exception of one tree, nothing was off-limits to them. They enjoyed life, fellowship with God, and an incredible marriage. Their lives were intended to be blessed, not cursed.
All was going well until Satan showed up. Whispering lies into Eve’s ears, Satan twisted the words of God. He convinced her to believe that she was limiting herself by avoiding that one tree. Understanding the importance of identity, he perverted her thoughts and led her to believe that she was currently inferior. He argued that she had not understood the message correctly. After all, she did not hear this directly from the Lord. Instead, it was secondhand information passed down from Adam. And finally, Satan convinced her to believe that there would be no repercussions for disobeying the Lord. Surely, the only thing that would happen would be that she would gain the same wisdom and knowledge of God. Bowing to the father of all lies, Eve fell to temptation. Her life would never be the same.
Immediately, guilt and shame entered her mind and heart. She faced separation between herself and God. She learned to point her fingers at everyone else instead of taking responsibility for her choices. The honeymoon stage of her life abruptly ended as tension entered into her marriage. Lastly, her choice opened the door for sin to crouch at the door of her offspring.
A Narrative of Lies
It is never the trauma anyone experiences that gives place to a dysfunctional life, marriage, and family—But the lies that were believed at those points of trauma. Satan relishes the ability to convince people that they are the sum of their past mistakes or the things done to them. The narrative he quickly scripts places limitations on reaching one’s full potential. Here are just some common lies of the enemy:
· No one will love you.
· You will always be a failure.
· Nobody wants to be around you.
· You are worthless.
· Things will never change.
· You are not good enough.
· I am just a victim of my past rather than a product of the Cross of Jesus Christ.
This is not an exhaustive list, as Satan will use any means possible to attack an individual. He knows the plans that God has in mind for each person. In his mind, winning the war means ensuring that no one is able to connect deeply with God in order to pursue the future that lies ahead. As these lies are accepted as truths, individuals, marriages, and families can all quickly be destroyed.
Man’s Identity: Help or Hindrance?
A man who struggles to know his identity in Christ will always feel inadequate and inferior. Without verbalizing it, not only will he struggle to connect with others, but he will perceive the distance between himself and God. While he will pray, part of him will feel that his prayers are hindered. He’ll reject the truth that he can approach the throne room of grace regardless of his past. Instead of seeing himself as the valiant warrior that God designed him to be, he may see himself as the failure that others have told him he is.
Deep feelings of rejection may also have taken root in his life. These may have stemmed from a parent who walked out on their spouse, a spouse who has emotionally checked out from the marriage, and, in doing so, chose to walk away from their kids, too. Dysfunctional marriages are the greatest threat not only to a Christ-centered marriage but especially to their children inheriting their parent’s negative generational and genealogical non-biblical agreements about marriage and family.
[Appreciation and special recognition are given to Dr. Joseph Wasmond for his contribution of material in this article.]